Information And Guidelines On Reusable Blood Warmer

By Rosella Campbell


Blood warming is a standard practice in the medical field nowadays. This is given by the fact that this red liquid is kept refrigerated in storage, probably in a reusable blood warmer, until is needed to be used in transfusion. These warmers are recommended in these situations as well as in some others. Medical staff should take the specific medical need of the patient into consideration, and also adapt to conditions and outside factors when starting the transfusion.

Medical staff should use warming devices when the volume intended for transfusion measures at 25% of the required amount of the patient's body. In many cases, medical professionals may be required to quickly administer a large number of units of this red liquid, and the temperature in these mass transfusions must be adequate to safely be transfused into the body.

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.

Patients that have cold agglutinins also need transfusions with warm blood. In cases that involve neonates, treatment with special care should be considered by the medical staff as well. Patients that might be have high risk of cardiac dysfunction from transfusions, as well as children or elderly patients, should benefit of the same amount of attention and extra care as patients previously mentioned.

Medical staff must only use certified equipment that offers specific features when warming is required. A visible thermometer must be attached at all times to these medical warming devices, and must also contain an audible alarm that has to be functioning and raise attention if the temperature exceeds a value higher than 41 degree celsius.

Several advantages are offered by these devices. Besides warming this red liquid, they can also transfer IV fluids, making them practical in multi-purposed cases. Temperatures of 38 degree celsius can be easily reached with a flow rate between ~2-150 mL/min, and a heater with automatic adjustment is provided when needed.

Maintenance for devices is mandatory for every 12 months, and the process has to be carefully monitored. These devices can lead to extremely dangerous situations if they malfunction. The blood bank should be informed immediately if the temperature this vital fluid exceeds 41 degree celsius.

Places that normally contain medical warming devices are theatres, ASCU, 6B nurseries, maternal-fetal medicine, 6D PICU, and nurseries. It is mandatory for medical staff to note the operating temperature when a device is used, and is highly recommended that this red liquid is warmed only using these devices.

Professional warming devices can process all sorts of standard infusions. A backup battery is included, and the devices are portable and light-weight. Completing setup takes about 45 seconds, and they are to be disposed when the transfusion is over.

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.




About the Author:



No comments:

Post a Comment

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...