A. Schlager, Heat trapped under paper and plastic ophthalmic drapes during eye surgery using local anesthesia, J CAT REF S, 25(11), 1999, pp. 1532-1534
Purpose: To assess whether heat trapped under ophthalmic drapes is responsi
ble for patient reports of being hot during cataract surgery using local an
esthesia.
Setting: Departments of Anaesthesia and Intensive Care Medicine and of Opht
halmology and Optometry, Innsbruck University Hospital, Innsbruck, Austria.
Methods: In a prospective, randomized, single-blind study, the temperature
in the ambient air under 2 types of paper drapes (Group A: Barrier(TM) Opht
halmology Drape, Johnson & Johnson(R); Group B: Steri Drape(R) 1062, 3M(R))
and a plastic drape (Group C: cotton drape + Steri Drape 1024, 3M) was mea
sured for 25 minutes in 60 patients having cataract surgery under local ane
sthesia
Results: Three minutes after the patient's head was draped, the mean temper
ature under the drape began to increase significantly: Group A, 25.7 degree
s C +/- 0.3 degrees C (SD) to 29.17 degrees C +/- 0.9 degrees C (P less tha
n or equal to.001); Group B, 25.87 degrees C +/- 0.4 degrees C to 29.41 deg
rees C +/- 0.9 degrees C (P less than or equal to.001): Group C, 25.8 degre
es C +/- 0.35 degrees C to 29.4 degrees C +/- 0.6 degrees C (P less than or
equal to .001). It continued to increase in all groups as the operation co
ntinued. No significant differences in temperature were observed among the
3 drape types studied. Subjective thermal discomfort was reported by 35% to
40% of patients.
Conclusion: Paper drapes did not cause less heat from being trapped than th
e plastic drape. Trapped heal may impair the comfort of patients having eye
surgery under local anesthesia. J Cataract Refract Surg 1999; 25: 1532-153
4 (C) 1999 ASCRS and ESCRS.