Effects of Forced-Air Warming Therapy on Anxiety, Pain, and Body Temperature of Patients under Local Anesthesia during Surgery: A Quasi-Experimental Study

Abstract

Purpose: This study aimed to evaluate the effect of forced air-warming therapy on anxiety, pain, and bodytemperature maintenance for local anesthesia patients. Methods: The study had a nonequivalent control group,pretest-posttest design. The participants were 70 patients undergoing local anesthesia (35 in the experimentalgroup and 35 in the control group) at a tertiary general hospital. The participants in the experimental group wereprovided forced air-warming blankets, and the control group was given available blankets. Data were collectedfrom May 1 to July 31, 2020, and analyzed using SPSS/WIN 27.0, the independent t-test, Repeated MeasuresANOVA, Repeated Measures ANCOVA, and the Bonferroni correction. Results: Postoperative state anxiety andpain scores significantly differed over time between the experimental and control groups. Postoperative bodytemperatures were also significantly different between the groups and over time. Conclusion: Applyinga forcedair-warming blanket is an effective nursing intervention toreduce anxiety and pain, and increase the bodytemperature of patients under local anesthesia during surgery. Therefore, forced air-warming blankets should beactively used for those patients.