Why Choose The 3M™ Bair Hugger™ Normothermia System

Whatever your role within the patient care setting, everyone has a responsibility to deliver the best possible care to the patient, whether it’s the anaesthetist monitoring vital signs, the surgeon performing life changing surgery, the nurse keeping the patient comfortable or even the procurement manager ensuring the hospital is equipped with the right products.

We want to help you make informed decisions about the solutions you choose to protect your patients from inadvertent perioperative hypothermia. Here you will find key information, facts, guidelines and resources all in one place.

The science behind the blanket

The efficacy of a forced-air warming system is mainly determined by the design of the blanket. A good forced-air warming blanket can easily be detected by measuring the temperature difference between the highest blanket temperature and the lowest blanket temperature. This temperature difference should be as low as possible.¹

Bair Hugger blankets achieve even heat distribution through their interconnecting air channel design and consistent perforations throughout the blanket. Bair Hugger blankets demonstrate superior heat transfer performance when compared with other forced-air warming systems.^2,3,12

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Did you know?

There are over 170 clinical studies using the Bair Hugger convective forced air warming system. No other warming system can provide the same body of evidence. Bair Hugger was the world’s first forced-air warming system, and today it remains the benchmark that all other systems are measured against.

When choosing a forced air warming system, ensure that it is substantiated with relevant clinical evidence that is true for that manufacturer.

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A safe solution you can trust

The Bair Hugger system has safely warmed over 300 million patients and counting!

Many professional bodies, clinical experts and government agencies, including the FDA, agree that no studies have shown an association between the use of a FAW system and increase in SSI.^4-9

You may also wonder why the Bair Hugger is not fitted with a HEPA filter. There is no evidence that HEPA filtration is safer, however it does impose measurable airflow limitations resulting in low performance.^10,11

Download our technical whitepaper for all the facts on warming unit filtration!

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Others say it, we can prove it

Not only can we provide a safe, effective warming system to help maintain normothermia in your surgical patients, but we also have a zero heat flux temperature monitoring system that can continuously measure the patient’s core temperature all the way through the perioperative process, even in patients under regional anaesthesia. The 3M™ Bair Hugger™ Temperature Monitoring System has been clinically proven to agree with pulmonary artery and other gold standard invasive core temperature monitoring systems.^13-16

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Normothermia guidelines in Europe

Our clinical guideline summary will help you to identify the recommendations published by experts and professional bodies in Europe to support clinicians in the prevention inadvertent perioperative hypothermia.

To learn more about how to ensure compliance to guidelines using an optimal warming protocol for maintaining normothermia in surgical patients, download our easy to understand infographic guide.
Informed decision making for better patient outcomes

Maintaining body temperature and keeping patients warm during surgery is vital.

References

Brauer A, Quintel M. Forced-air warming: technology, physical background and practical aspects. Current Opinion in Anaesthesiology 2009,22:769–774
Brauer A, et al. Comparison of forced-air warming systems with upper body blankets using a copper manikin of the human body. Acta Anaesthesiol Scand. 2002;46:965-972. Brauer A, et al. Construction and evaluation of a manikin for perioperative heat exchange. Acta Anaesthesiol Scand. 2002;46:43-50. Brauer A, et al. Comparison of forced-air warming systems with lower body blankets using a copper manikin of the human body. Acta Anaesthesiol Scand. 2003;47:58-64..
Unpublished results, 3M data on file. In vitro study. Testing performed using a test stand configuration of the human body (Ref: Brauer A, et al9). Testing performed by 3M using Bair Hugger Model 775 (120V, 60Hz) warming unit, Cocoon CWS 4000 (120V, 60Hz) warming unit, Mistral Air Model 1100 (120V, 60 Hz) warming unit, Covidien WarmTouch WT6000 (120V, 60Hz) warming unit and Smiths Medical EQUATOR EQ5000 (120V, 60Hz) warming unit. Blankets tested: 3M Bair Hugger models 525/522/622/300/635, Cocoon models CLM0104/CLM0102/CLM0101, Mistral Air models MA0220/MA0260/MA0250/MA0400, Covidien WarmTouch models 5030880/5030870/5030810, Smiths Snugglewarm models SW2004/SW2003/SW2001.
Huang JK, et al. The Bair Hugger patient warming system in prolonged vascular surgery: an infection risk? Crit Care Jun 2003;7(3):R13-16
Zink RS, I aizzo PA. Convective warming therapy does not increase the risk of wound contamination in the operating room. Anesth Analg. Jan 1993;76(1):50-53
Moretti B, et al. Active warming systems to maintain perioperative normothermia in hip replacement surgery: a therapeutic aid or a vector of infection? J.Hosp. Infect. Sep 2009;73(1):58-63
ECRI Institute. Forced-air Warming and Surgical Site Infections. Health Devices Journal April 2013.
Kellam MD, Dieckmann L; Austin PN. Forced-Air Warming Devices and the Risk of Surgical Site Infections. AORN J. Oct 2003;98(4):354-369
Parvizi J, Gehrke T. Proceedings of the International Consensus Meeting on Periprosthetic Joint Infection: Final Report. www.msis-na.org/internationalconsensus. Accessed May 7, 2015.
Akhtar Z, Hesler BD, Fi ck AN, et al. A randomized trial of prewarming on patient satisfaction and thermal comfort in outpatient surgery. J Clin Anesth. 2016; 33:376-385.
Curtis GL, Faour M, George J, Klika AK, Barsoum WK, Higuera CA. HEPA Filters do not affect acute infection rates during primary total joint arthroplasty using forced air warmers. The Journal of Arthroplasty. 2018; 10.1016/j.arth.2018.01.069.
Unpublished results, 3M data on file. Bair Hugger versus Mistral-Air performance comparison. IPD laboratory; 2015.
Eshraghi Y, Sessler D. (2012), Exploratory Method-Comparison Evaluation of a Disposable Non-Invasive Zero Heat Flow Thermometry System. 2012 American Society of Anesthesiologists Annual Meeting; A63.
Eshraghi Y, Nasr V, Sessler D (2014), An Evaluation of a Zero-Heat-Flux Cutaneous Thermometer in Cardiac Patients. Anes Analg 119(3):543-9.
Iden T, Horn EP et al (2015), Intraoperative temperature monitoring with zero heat flux technology in comparison with sublingual and nasopharyngeal temperature: An observational study Euro Journal Anaesthesiolog, 32:387-391.
Zaballos J, Salinas U (2014), Clinical Evaluation of SpotOn, a New Non-Invasive and Continuous Temperature Monitoring System. ASA Abstract A4270.