Abstract
Two groups of 5 premature newborns nursed under radiant warmers were studied for two consecutive hours with and without two types of plastic heat shields to determine their effect on (1) servocontrolled radiant warmer power demand (wattmeter), (2) radiant heat received at bed level (thermopile) and (3) insensible water loss (IWL, Potter Scale). One group (1.33±.18 mean±SEM kg) was studied under a transparent body hood (3 mm thick), the other (1.23±.12 kg, p=NS) was studied under a thin (.013 mm) plastic blanket. Infants required 42% more power from the servocontrol when nursed under the hood (208±24 control vs. 297±35 watts, p< .001). In contrast, infants under the blanket demanded 21% less warmer power (214±11 control vs 169±10 watts, p<.001). Heat received at bed level decreased significantly for infants under both shields: 69% in the hood (13.8±1.9 control to 4.3±1.0 mw/cm2, p<.001), and 38% under the blanket (14.2±1.9 control to 8.8±1.5 mw/cm2, p<.001). IWL was significantly less only in infants nursed under the blanket (3.98±1.03 control vs. 1.46±.56 ml/kg/hr p<.02). Skin temps and ambient temp and relative humidity did not change with either type of shield (p=NS). This study suggests that a body hood significantly blocks radiant power delivery to infants under radiant warmers without conservation of IWL. These infants may have been cold stressed since their radiant power demand was consistently increased. The plastic blanket interfers with transmission of radiant heat and reduces IWL.
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Baumgart, S., Fox, W. & Polin, R. 1237 POTENTIAL DANGER OF A PLASTIC BODY HOOD VS. BENEFICIAL EFFECTS OF A THIN PLASTIC BLANKET IN SHIELDING INFANTS UNDER RADIANT WARMERS. Pediatr Res 15 (Suppl 4), 649 (1981). https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-198104001-01264
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-198104001-01264