[Intraoperative infusion therapy. Evaluation of the rate of administration and assessment of the effectiveness of infusion warmers].

A look at the efficiency of infusion warmers from the clinician's point of view must be based on the infusion rates usually necessary in the operating room. Therefore a retrospective evaluation of 1,510 anesthesia records was made in order to register the flow rate of every infusion. As a general rule the flow rate did not exceed 1.5 1/h. Our past warming apparatus was found not very effective in this range under the standard conditions of a cold operating room with laminar air flow. A new in-line warmer, fast and easy to handle, proved superior in daily use.