Blanket Warmer Operating Manual
14
ECRI and AORN Temperature Recommendations
There are no national standards for blanket and fluid warming cabinet temperature settings.
However, in 2006 the ECRI Institute issued a warning that fluid and blanket warmers should
be limited to a temperature
no higher than 43° C (110° F) to decrease the risk of thermal
injuries to patients. In 2009, ECRI published a hazard report update, raising their previous
recommendation for a safe blanket warming temperature limit to 54.44° C (130° F), with the
provision that IV fluids should not be warmed in the same cabinet. When ECRI changed their
recommendations in 2009, AORN also amended their Recommended Practice for a Safe
Environment of Care (2010) to be consistent.
ECRI and AORN recommend that the fluid warmer temperature and the length of time that
fluids should remain in the warming cabinet should be requested from the manufacturer of
each fluid or solution, since the requirements may be different for each. As general guidance,
the AORN Recommendation for the Practice Environment of Care, Recommendation VIII
states that fluids and solutions should be labeled with a date that indicates when the fluids
should be removed or when they were placed in the warmer. They also state that IV Fluids
should be warmed using technology designed for this purpose, that solutions should be
rotated on a first in-first out basis and that IV bags and solution bottles should not be used as
patient warming devices.
AORN also recommends that warming cabinet temperatures should be checked at regular
intervals per the organization
’s policy and documented on a temperature log or record,
