This measure is calculated based on data extracted from the electronic medical record combined with administrative data sources such as professional fee and discharge diagnoses data.  This measure is explicitly not based on provider self-attestation.

Percentage of cases that active warming was administered by the anesthesia provider.

Anesthesia Start to Patient Extubated

Cases with general or neuraxial anesthetic technique.

• ASA 5 and 6 cases
• Diagnostic Procedures (CPT: 01922)
• Obstetric Non-Operative Procedures (CPT: 01958, 01960, 01967)
• Obstetric Non-Operative Procedures with procedure text: “Labor Epidural”
• MRI Rooms (Rooms tagged as Radiology-MRI)
• MRI with procedure text:
  • MRI
  • MR Head
  • MR Brain
  • MR Chest
  • MR Torso
  • MR Abdomen
  • MR Lumbar
  • MR Spine
  • MR Knee
  • MR Femur
  • MR Abdomen
  • OFFSITE - RADIOLOGY PROCEDURE
• Cases less than 60 minutes between Case Start and Case End.
  • Algorithm for determining Case Length:
    • Case Start
    1. Anesthesia Induction End.  If not available, then
    2. Anesthesia Induction Begin.  If not available, then
    3. Procedure Start. If not available, then
    4. Patient in Room.  If not available, then
    5. Anesthesia Start
    • Case End
    1. Patient Extubated.  If not available, then
    2. Procedure End.  If not available, then
    3. Patient Out of Room.  If not available, then
    4. Anesthesia End

• Cases with documentation of an active warming device applied OR
• Cases with at least one temperature greater than or equal to 36.0°C within the 30 minutes before case end.
  • Case End
  1. Patient Extubated.  If not available, then
  2. Procedure End.  If not available, then
  3. Patient Out of Room.  If not available, then
  4. Anesthesia End
• Other considerations:
  • For patients undergoing cesarean section (CPT: 01961, 01962, 01963, 01968, 01969), fluid warmer is accepted as an active warming device.

• Artifact algorithm:
  • Less than 32.0°C (89.6F)
  • Greater than 40.0°C (104.0F)
  • Any minute-to-minute jumps >0.5°C equivalent. 
    • Example: 0.125°C /15s, 0.25°C / 30s, 1°C / 2mins
  • Conversion from F to C:    F=32 +9/5 (°C)
• If temperature site not present in physiologic concept, refer to intraop notes.

Provider present at induction end.

• Percentage of Cases with a Temperature Observation
• Percentage of Cases with an Extubation Note
• Percentage of Cases with Anesthesia Induction End Documented
• Percentage of General and Neuraxial Cases with Warming Method Specified

General and neuraxial anesthesia causes vasodilation thus redistributing body heat from the core to peripheries.  This redistribution can cause hypothermia.  Core temperatures outside the normal range pose significant risks to patients. Pediatric patients are more likely to develop perioperative hypothermia due to a high surface area to weight ratio and inability to regulate their own temperature.¹  Published research has correlated impaired wound healing, adverse cardiac events, altered drug metabolism, and coagulopathies with unplanned perioperative hypothermia. These adverse outcomes resulted in prolonged hospital stays and increased healthcare expenditures.  Active warming techniques provide the best results for reducing cutaneous heat loss and preventing hypothermia.^2-7

Not applicable.

1. Carpenter L, Baysinger CL. Maintaining perioperative normothermia in the patient undergoing cesarean delivery. Obstetrical & gynecological survey. 2012;67(7):436-446.

2. Horn EP, Schroeder F, Gottschalk A, et al. Active warming during cesarean delivery. Anesthesia and analgesia. 2002;94(2):409-414, table of contents.

3. Insler SR, Sessler DI. Perioperative thermoregulation and temperature monitoring. Anesthesiology clinics. 2006;24(4):823-837.

4. Kim P, Taghon T, Fetzer M, Tobias JD. Perioperative hypothermia in the pediatric population: a quality improvement project. American journal of medical quality : the official journal of the American College of Medical Quality. 2013;28(5):400-406.

5. Madrid E, Urrutia G, Roque i Figuls M, et al. Active body surface warming systems for preventing complications caused by inadvertent perioperative hypothermia in adults. The Cochrane database of systematic reviews. 2016;4:Cd009016.

6. Sessler DI. Temperature monitoring and perioperative thermoregulation. Anesthesiology. 2008;109(2):318-338.

7. Sun Z, Honar H, Sessler DI, et al. Intraoperative core temperature patterns, transfusion requirement, and hospital duration in patients warmed with forced air. Anesthesiology. 2015;122(2):276-285.