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vendredi 4 juillet 2014

Guidelines And Tips On Reusable Blood Warmer

By Rosella Campbell


When blood is kept refrigerated in storage until it is used in transfusion, it is a common practice in the medical field these days to use warming. A reusable blood warmer is recommended in various situations such as this. The medical needs specific to the individual patient, along with outside factors, should be taken in consideration by the medical staff when making decisions about administering this red liquid.

It is appropriate to use warming equipments for transfusions in situations of resuscitation when quick transfusions are needed. Administrating this vital fluid that is too cold can induce hypothermia in a patient. It is highly recommendable to avoid this kind of situation as much as possible.

A warming device is also needed when transfusing this life-saving fluid to patients that have cold agglutinins disease. It's also required if the patient is a newborn, special care and consideration should be taken for the delicate nature of the body. The same attention must be made to patients with high risk of cardiac dysfunction, geriatric, or pediatric patients.

Cases when patients have cold agglutinins also require transfusions with warmed blood. The medical staff should also consider treatment with special care in situations involving neonates. Patients that have high risk of heart problems, children, or elderly patients should also be taken care of with the same special attention or even more when they need transfusions.

Just as cold blood may cause complications, overly hot forms can also be dangerous to the patient. Therefore, every time these devices are used, medical staff must write down what operating temperature the device displays.

Professional warming equipment can offer several advantages. They are practical, and can be used in multi-purposed cases like warming this vital fluid and also transferring IV fluids. They have a flow rate between ~2-150 mL/min, can easily reach temperatures of 38degree celsius, and have heaters that automatically adjust blood temperature when needed.

Maintenance is mandatory every 12 months, and it must be carefully monitored. If malfunctions occur, the devices can become extremely dangerous. If the temperature of this vital fluid exceeds 41 degree celsius, the medical staff should immediately inform the blood bank.

Theatres, ASCU, maternal-fetal medicine, nurseries, 6B nurseries and 6D PICU are all locations where these medical warming devices can be found. When the medical staff uses these devices, they have to write down the operating temperature. Again, blood transfusions are recommended only by using these devices.

Warming devices can handle all types of standard infusion. They are portable, light-weight, and have backup batteries. The setup takes about 45 seconds, and they are disposed afterwards. Due to the strict operational and maintenance procedures, it's highly important that blood should be warmed only by using these devices.

Nowadays, the medical staff can use disposable fluid warmers (blood and IV fluids), all thanks to technology which has evolved immensely in the medical industry. Thermiflow fluid warmers, the most recently developed disposable devices, are self-powered medical machines. They are activated automatically when exposed to the atmospheric air, and can offer changes in temperature of 10 degree celsius with a 40 mL/min flow rate.




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