NEW ORLEANS, March 26, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Medline Industries, Inc., today introduced an innovative patient warming system called PerfecTemp™, which has been proven to maintain a patient's core body temperature during surgery, reducing the risk of unintentional hypothermia and improving outcomes for surgical patients. Medline's PerfecTemp was introduced in New Orleans at the 59th Annual Association of periOperative Registered Nurses (AORN) Congress, the largest gathering of OR nurses in the world.
Patients under general anesthesia can't regulate their body's temperature, increasing the risk for unintended hypothermia — an all-too common and costly complication associated with longer hospital stays, triple the rate of wound infection, and even death. Medline's PerfecTemp features technologically advanced conductive heating delivered through a high-tech synthetic OR table pad that effectively maintains normothermia, or normal body temperature (between 96.8 and 100.4 degrees Farenheit), in anesthetized patients.
"PerfecTemp's technology offers many advantages over other patient warming options, namely forced-air systems. With its large table pad, PerfecTemp warms uniformly over a larger surface area of the patient. It also monitors the temperature at the point where the patient's skin meets the mattress, allowing for safer and more efficient delivery of the heat," said Frank Czajka, president of the Proxima division at Medline. "Since PerfecTemp warms the body from underneath, this innovative product design also allows the surgeon to have complete access to the patient and surgical site, unlike other warming options that involve a blanket that covers the patient and may cause access issues."
PerfecTemp also helps hospitals comply with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services' (CMS) Surgical Care Improvement Project (SCIP) measure Inf-10 that states "surgical patients should be actively warmed during surgery."
While the product involves sophisticated technology, PerfecTemp is simple to use — taking up virtually no additional space in the OR and featuring an easy-to-use control unit the OR staff simply turns on once each morning. The control unit even has a timer built in so PerfecTemp can be set to turn on automatically before the first operation of the day, eliminating set up time altogether.
"PerfecTemp fits very well into the OR environment — it is a silent system and, unlike other warming options, does not have a lot of electrical cords or extra elements that could get in the way of the surgical team," said Czajka. "The OR team literally just has to push the 'on' button in the morning to warm the pad up before their first case, and are then set to provide warming therapy for every patient for the rest of the day."
PerfecTemp offers Effective Pressure Ulcer Prevention
PerfecTemp's high-tech table pad also doubles as an effective pressure ulcer reduction system. PerfecTemp is the only warming system to offer pressure redistribution. Several studies indicate that procedures longer than two and a half hours significantly increase the patient's risk for pressure ulcer formation. PerfecTemp has two layers of advanced foam to provide pressure redistribution and comfort, as well as a technologically advanced synthetic cover to reduce friction, a factor known to contribute to skin breakdown.
PerfecTemp is Environmentally Friendly
In addition to being a highly effective patient warming device and pressure ulcer reduction system, PerfecTemp is environmentally friendly. A recent study showed PerfecTemp to be 80 percent more energy efficient than forced-air systems. PerfecTemp also has no disposable parts compared to forced-air systems, which use disposable blankets and patient garments.
About Medline's Surgical Solutions
PerfecTemp™ is part of Medline's growing portfolio of innovative surgical products, solutions and clinical programs. Medline started as an OR solutions provider more than 100 years ago when the company's founder got his start in health care by making surgeon gowns and was the innovator responsible for changing OR gowns from white to blue to reduce the dangerous glare from OR lights. Since then, the company has built an entire suite of OR solutions that focus on solving the critical problems that cost hospitals more money. Medline now offers an innovative suite of OR products, programs and training called empOweR™, which the company also launched this week.
Medline's new empOweR educational series focuses on the most critical and fundamental safety issues facing ORs today, from preventing wrong-site surgery, retained objects and sharps injuries to maintaining normothermia and preventing pressure ulcers. In addition to PerfecTemp, Medline's OR solutions include: OR gowns, masks and gloves, including the company's new Signature Glide™ glove; Medline's pressure ulcer prevention products and program; ClearCount RFID counting and detection used to eliminate retained foreign objects; special flags, drapes and labels to help prevent wrong site surgeries; a number of products designed to prevent needle stick and blade injuries to both patients and staff; as well as ERASE CAUTI®, innovative products and programs designed to reduce the risk of catheter-associated urinary tract infections, a common, yet avoidable surgical complication. Product information can be found at www.medline.com. More information about the empOweR series' free CE courses and other training materials can be found at www.medlineuniversity.com.
About Medline
As the nation's largest privately held manufacturer and distributor of healthcare products, Medline manufactures and distributes more than 125,000 products to hospitals, extended care facilities, surgery centers, physician offices, home care dealers, agencies and major retail outlets. Recently named one of the "100 Best Places to Work in Healthcare," Medline is headquartered in Mundelein, Ill.and has more than 1,100 dedicated sales representatives nationwide to support its broad product line, clinical programs and cost management services. For more information, visit www.medline.com.
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