Patient Safety - Gaymar Medi-Therm III Manuel D'utilisation

Medi-Therm III
®

8.0 Patient Safety

Use the Medi-Therm III Hyper/Hypothermia machine
only under the direction of a physician.
Review the following precautions and procedures prior
to each application:
Do not use the Medi-Therm III machine in the
presence of flammable anesthetics.
Risk of explosion can result.
• If the patient's temperature is not responding or
does not reach the prescribed temperature in the
prescribed time or deviates from the prescribed
temperature range, notify the attending physician
promptly.
Failure to notify the physician promptly
may result in serious injury or death.
• Power interruption will cause the Medi-Therm III
machine to go into a standby mode, resulting in
no therapy to the patient. Follow instructions for
desired mode to resume operation.
Failure to resume therapy could result in
serious injury or death.
• The Medi-Therm III machine is provided with a
means of checking rectal/esophageal temperature
probes. When performing the PROBE CHECK
(p. 17, 10.1.2, item 4), use a disposable protective
sheath on the probe.
Failure to use a sheath could result in
cross-contamination.
(continued next column)
• A physician's order is required for use of
equipment. Check the integrity of the skin
according to department protocol when
regulating temperature with external devices.
Frequency of assessment and documentation will
vary depending upon the individual response of
the patient.
Failure to monitor patient may result
in skin damage or inappropriate patient
temperature.
PEDIATRICS - The temperatures of infants and
children are more responsive to surface heating
and cooling than adults. The smaller the patient,
the more pronounced the effect because of
their higher ratio of skin contact area to body
mass.
TEMPERATURE-SENSITIVE PATIENTS
- Patients with impaired peripheral blood
circulation caused by vascular diseases and
patients who are incapacitated may be more
sensitive to temperature changes than patients
with more normal circulation.
OPERATING ROOM PATIENTS - Patients with
poor circulation associated with inadequate
heart function, reduction in blood volume,
and constriction of peripheral blood vessels
may deviate from the normal response to the
external application of heat and cold.
• Avoid placing additional heat sources between
the patient and blanket/body wrap.
Skin damage can result.
Heat applied by the blanket/body wrap can
result in a rise in skin temperature at the
areas of contact. The additional heat rise due
to electrosurgical currents flowing to the
dispersive electrode could be sufficient to
cause tissue injury. Each thermal effect by itself
may be completely safe, but the additive effect
may be injurious. Keep additional heat
1
sources from between the patient and
the blanket/body wrap.
Patient Safety
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