Maintaining normothermia in newborns and warmed fluids

Abstract

The most important adaptation of the newborn baby after birth is trying to adapt to the extrauterine environment, which is colder than the intrauterine environment. The World Health Organization; it recommends keeping the axillary body temperature in newborns between 36.5 and 37.5 °C. Attempts to prevent hypothermia and ensure normothermia can be divided into two groups; passive heating and active heating. While the passive heating is maintaining and increasing the ambient temperature, removing wet covers, drying, use of heated towels, hats, clothes and covers, active heating metods can be defined as warmed gel beds, polyethylene cover, warmed gases and warmed liquids.

Purpose of warmed intravenous liquids; it is to reduce the contribution of intravenously administered fluids (approximately 25 °C) to hypothermia through convection (heat transfer). There are very limited studies on the use of warmed IV fluids in newborns. Therefore this article is aimed to guide evidence-based studies on different areas including warmed IV liquids, neonatal hypothermia control and neonatal care.