The British journal of theatre nursing : NATNews : the official journal of the National Association of Theatre Nurses
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Clinical Trial Controlled Clinical Trial
Prevention of hypothermia during anaesthesia.
A study of the hypothermic effects of general anaesthesia during breast surgery and its amelioration by the use of a thermal drape to most of the body exclusive of the operating site. Two groups of patients are compared, using a constant anaesthetic technique, a single surgeon and the same operating conditions except for the omission or inclusion of thermal drapes. A review of the homeostatic mechanisms of temperature control and other methods of maintaining body temperature are included.
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Many investigators have looked at the loss of body heat by the patient during the perioperative period. However the problem still remains of identifying those at risk using a scientific approach. This small study has looked at nine factors identified from a literature search, tested each against a group of 27 patients and then created and tested a check list and rating scale of risk for use by theatre nurses at preoperative assessment during a ward visit. ⋯ Moreover, the patient's preoperative haemoglobin level also appears to influence the degree of heat loss [P = < 0.05]. The study also looked at the level of success achieved by the theatre nurses in identifying the levels of each factor and this showed that the nurses could identify each level with a 77% success rate overall. After constructing a scale it was tested against the data and this showed that the Rating Scale could identify those at risk [P = < 0.005].(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
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1846 was a good year for patients. While there is debate on exactly who gave the first anaesthetic, there is no doubt that ether was the initial agent used and that the era of painless surgery was born in 1846.
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This qualitative study uses a grounded theory approach to explore the motivational factors which affect nurses' career choice, by focusing on the responses of post registration nurses undertaking a course in operating room nursing. In all, 15 nurses were interviewed. ⋯ The descriptive analysis of each section serves to illuminate individual motivational factors which brought these respondents into nursing and the initial socialization process: early experiences of theatre nursing; aspects of work which provide job satisfaction; how nurses use nursing skills in theatre and recruitment of future theatre nurses. For these respondents, theatre nursing provided a clear task identity which is seen as significant in terms of patient outcomes, it provides interesting and challenging work within a good team structure, which was viewed as important for job satisfaction and motivation.