Ultrasound gel under radiant heat warmers: are preterm infants at risk of burns?

Dr Mark William Davies MB,BS, FRACP, DCH Senior Neonatal Fellow
Mr Sam Mehr Research Student
Division of Neonatal Services, Royal Women's Hospital, Carlton, Victoria

Abstract:

Purpose
The aim of this study was to determine the increase in temperature of ultrasound gel under an infant radiant heat warmer.

Materials and methods
Ten 10 millilitre blobs of ultrasound gel (EcoGel 200, Eco-Med Pharmaceuticals Inc., Ontario, Canada) were placed on an open cot under a radiant warmer (V-3200N Atom Infant-Warmer, Atom Medical Corporation, Tokyo, Japan) set at maximum heat output. The temperature of the gel blobs was taken with an electronic thermometer (Orion 290A, Orion Research Inc., Boston, USA) every 10 minutes up to 60 minutes. The mean temperature of the 10 blobs were compared using the student t test.

Results
The gel increased in temperature from a mean of 21.57°C (SD = 0.29) to 26.76°C (SD=0.4) after 60 minutes - an increase of 5.19°C. The rise in temperature reached a plateau after 30-40 minutes. The room temperature was 24.9°C.

Conclusion
The temperature of ultrasound gel under a radiant heat warmer increases by less than 6°C. It is therefore unlikely that ultrasound gel placed under a radiant heat warmer for less than 1 hour would lead to thermal injury in the neonate.