Management of Hypothermia in Neonates with A Locally Made Resuscitation Trolley System

Hypothermia is associated with large number of serious complications. We face a lot of problems while treating babies with preoperative and post operative hypothermia. Hypothermia is preventable if proper measures are taken. In our set up we do not have proper warming system in neonatology units. We managed hypothermia successfully in neonates preoperatively and post-operatively with the help of a locally made resuscitation trolley system designed and made by the authors. OBJECTIVES: To asses the outcome of the neonates with preoperative and postoperative hypothermia a locally made resuscitation trolley system was used. DESIGN: Retrospective study PATIENTS AND METHODS: All neonates with hypothermia were shifted to the automatic resuscitation trolley system. A four hourly record of axillary temperature of all the babies under study was kept. The warmer rods were operated at 750 watts maximum till the surface temperature of the babies was normal. RESULTS: A total of 510 neonates were managed during the period from July 2005 to June 2007. Out of these 108 neonates suffered hypothermia during some phase of pre-operative period. Eighty seven hypothermic babies were managed post-operatively. Fifteen normothermic babies were also managed on this automatic system. All the neonates with hypothermia preoperative and post operative were managed successfully on this system. Of the fifteen normothermic neonates who were also managed on this resuscitation system, only two developed hypothermia of 1 degree C. CONCLUSION: Proper warming system can prevent hypothermia in neonates and many lives can be saved. INTRODUCTION Neonatal hypothermia is one of the most common problems seen during the management of neonates especially in the winter season. Hypothermia is the killer for the babies. Most of the neonatal units in our hospitals are not properly equipped with a warming system to control the temperature. Hypothermia is preventable with a little effort. The commonly available warming systems in our hospitals are very expensive, being imported from overseas against foreign exchange. We have devised an automatic resuscitation trolley system with a simple and safe warning system. This warming system and its results are discussed. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The automatic warming system has following features: Surface area: Maximum of the baby is 0.28 M [2]. Illumination: It consists of two halogen bulbs of 50 watts with grading system to control the intensity of light. Warming sources: Two glass rod elements of 750 watts rating of each are utilised. These are placed at the distance of 0.9 meters from the target surface. Warming control system: This dual system, having a manual control, consists of a pure manual control for the intensity of the warming elements and an automatic system which consist of a sensor with a servo mode, sensing the temperature at the surface of the body of neonate and then controlling the working of the warming elements. Alarm system: This is consists of a pulsatile tone with each pulse of radiation emitted. Volume of the tone is controllable. Bed for neonate: It is very comfortable and is 0.9 meters from the heating elements. Original Study