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.

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.

If the volume to be administrated exceeds 25%, medical staff should use the warming device prior to transfusion. It is highly probable that more units might be needed in such situations, and using the device will aid the fast transfusions required.

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.

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 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.

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.

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.

The technology in the medical industry has evolved greatly, and now the disposable fluid warmer (blood and IV fluid) can be readily used by medical staff. These disposable warming fluids and blood devices, also referred to as thermiflow, are self-powered. Thermiflow devices can be automatically activated when exposed to the atmospheric air, and can offer a temperature increment of 10 degree celsius with a flow rate of 40 mL/min.




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