Abstract
Infants nursed under radiant warmers are exposed to significant quantities of short wavelength, infrared power density distributed over their skin surface facing the heating element. The remainder of infant skin surface not facing the warmer is exposed to the walls of the nursery which are cooler than the skin, resulting in radiant heat loss in a longer wavelength infrared spectrum. Net radiant heat transfer in kcal/kg/hr (combined radiant heat losses and gains), has been calculated from a heat loss/heat gain partition we have previously reported for 10 neonates (WT 1.39±.08 SEM kg, GA 31 ± 1 wks) nursed naked and supine under radiant warmers servocontrolled to maintain abdominal skin temperature at 35.5, 36.5. and 37.5 °C. A specifically described application of the Stefan-Boltzman law which describes radiant heat transfer across a surface-to-surface temperature gradient (Bell and Rios, Pediatr Res, 17:135, 1983) was then applied to these data and the mean radiant temperatures these infants experienced over their entire exposed body surface area were calculated. Mean radiant temperatures in the infrared spectrums experienced were 40.8 ± 1.3 °C at 35.5°C skin temperature, 46.0 ± 1.4°C at 36.5°C and 48.6 ± 1.3°C at 37.5°C. These data suggest that net radiant heat transfer is in the direction of the infant. Spectral irradiance in the infrared range may be important in determining the infant's mean environmental radiant temperature when exposed to a radiant heat source.
Article PDF
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Baumgart, S. DETERMINATION OF MEAN ENVIRONMENTAL RADIANT TEMPERATURES FOR PREMATURE NEONATES NURSED UNDER RADIANT WARMERS. Pediatr Res 18 (Suppl 4), 310 (1984). https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-198404001-01304
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-198404001-01304