Effects of thermal blanket on patients' vital signs, shivering level, chilling status and temperature comfort perception in the preoperative and postoperative period

This study was carried out as a randomized controlled interventional study to determine the effects of the thermal blankets on patients' vital signs, shivering level, chill status and temperature comfort perception in the pre- and postoperative period. The data of the study were collected from patients who underwent planned gynecological surgery between February 2021 and June 2021 in a training and research hospital in a province in the south of Turkey. The sample of the study consisted of 44 patients in the intervention (n=22) and control (n=22) groups determined by randomization. The data of the study were collected with the Patient Information Form, the Patient Follow-up Form, the Shivering Level Diagnosis Form and the Thermal Comfort Perception Scale. Both groups were warmed passively before and after surgery. In the control group, cotton piqué, which is a hospital procedure, was used, and thermal blankets were used in the intervention group. The data obtained in the research were analyzed using the SPSS 24.0 program. As a result of the study, it was determined that there was no statistically significant difference between the vital signs and oxygen saturations of the intervention and control groups during the first 60 minutes after surgery. It was determined that the shivering level and coldness of the control group were higher in the postoperative period, but the difference between the groups was not statistically significant (p>0.05). It was determined that the mean thermal comfort perceptions of the patients in the intervention group at the 30th, 60th and 90th minutes were significantly higher than those in the control group (p<0.05). The findings showed that the thermal blanket is not superior to the cotton piqué used in standard care in maintaining and raising body temperature, but it is effective in increasing the perception of thermal comfort.