Patient warming concerns

On discovering that the blowing equipment could not be effectively cleaned and colonised bacteria, which then blew out into the theatre, Dr Augustine and his team developed a safer, cleanable method of keeping patients warm. He said he was shocked at the recent guidance from NICE that recommends using forced air warming, and is currently seeking a meeting with the organisation to present his findings and urge NICE to urgently modify the guidance.

“When we first developed forced air warming there was not the focus that there is today on MRSA and hospital-acquired infections,” said Dr Augustine. “It is very important that patients are warmed before, during and after surgery so we were concentrating on that.

“We then discovered that bacteria accretes within the equipment and hoses. Hardly any of these units are HEPA-filtered and cannot be effectively cleaned – so they blow bacteria directly out into the operating theatre.”

He added that they also blow particles of potentially-contaminated skin around the theatre, which poses a potential risk of MRSA. “These devices cannot be effectively decontaminated, so their use contravenes the Health Act. We are not sure how many UK hospitals are using forced air systems to warm their patients but we fear it may be as high as 80%.”