Effects of perioperative warm socks-wearing in maintaining core body temperature of patients undergoing spinal surgery

Aims and objectives: To investigate whether warming the feet with socks would prevent hypothermia among patients undergoing spinal surgery.

Background: Perioperative hypothermia is a common health problem among spinal surgery patients.

Research design: This study used a quasi-experimental design.

Methods: Seventy-two patients were assigned to two groups. The control group (n = 36) received usual care without the warmed socks. The intervention group (n = 36) received usual care plus warmed socks during operation and recovery period. Data were collected during (180 min) and after the surgery (30 min) during the period of 7 February-10 April 2015. Core body temperature, shivering response and subjective thermal comfort of the two groups were compared over time using the repeated-measures ANOVA.

Results: The oesophageal temperature of the socks-wearing group was maintained between 36.36-36.45°C during surgery (mean = 36.41 ± 0.03, 95% CI = 36.34-36.47), whereas that of the control was between 35.75-35.97°C (mean = 35.98 ± 0.03, 95% CI = 35.92-36.04). The tympanic temperature in the recovery room of the socks-wearing group was between 36.28-36.38°C (mean = 36.37 ± 0.04, 95% CI = 36.29-36.45) and that of the control group was 35.90-36.04°C (mean = 35.95 ± 0.04, 95% CI = 35.88-36.05). Shivering response of the intervention group (mean = 0.04 ± 0.08, 95% CI = -0.13 to 0.21) was significantly lower than that of the control group (mean = 0.47 ± 0.08, 95% CI = 0.30-0.64) in the recovery room (F = 4.28, p < .001). As for subjective thermal comfort, the intervention group (mean = 4.86 ± 0.13, 95% CI = 4.62-5.13) was significantly lower than that of the control group (mean = 3.08 ± 0.13, 95% CI = 2.82-3.33) in the recovery room (F = 98.13, p < .001). As for the frequency of pethidine medication, the intervention group was significantly lower than that of the control (χ² = 5.14, p = .023).

Conclusion: The use of perioperative warmed socks for spinal surgery patients was effective in maintaining perioperative core temperature, preventing shivering and maintaining subjective thermal comfort.

Relevance to clinical practice: Considering cost-effectiveness of warmed socks, it might be worth trying option for the maintenance of core temperature in spinal surgery patients.