With more and more practices turning to Darvall Heated Breathing Circuits to manage hypothermia during anesthesia (especially during National Pet Dental Health Month), we’ve put together a quick list of tips to help you get the most benefit from warming from within.
6 tips to Success
- Pre-Warm the Patient – Warming the patient in a heated cage or under a warming blanket before the procedure can prevent the loss of 1 – 2oF body temperature
- Pre-Warm the Circuit – Turn the heat controller on 5 minutes before induction so the tubing is warm and ready to go.
- Orange to Inspiration – Connect the hose with the orange collar to the INSPIRATION side of the breathing circuit. Get this wrong and you’re only warming the waste gas.
- Go Low Flow – Calculate the oxygen flow rate at 30ml/kg. Higher flow rates reduce its ability to heat the inspired gas effectively.
- Start at the Start – Heated breathing circuits prevent hypothermia better than they treat hypothermia. Capture control of body temperature at intubation. Use this circuit as the first breath and you’ll prevent the loss of 2 – 5oF body temperature.
- Maximize Continuity – A heated breathing circuit for each gas machine in your practice provides convenient and consistent patient warming throughout the hospital.
Here’s a presentation that dives deeper into each of the 6 Tips, with links to even more information.
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Ken Crump AAS, AHT is a writer and animal anesthetist, and writes Making Anesthesia Easier for DarvallVet, a division of Advanced Anesthesia Specialists. He makes dozens of Continuing Education presentations on veterinary anesthesia and oncology across the United States and in Canada. Ken retired from the Veterinary Teaching Hospital at Colorado State University in 2008
Making Anesthesia Easier 