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Guidelines And Tips 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.

Use of warming devices for the transfusions is appropriate in cases of resuscitation when rapid transfusions are needed. A patient might fall into hypothermia from administration of fluid that is too cold. Medical professionals are urged to avoid this situation at all times.

When the volume to be administered is higher than 25%, it is advisable to use warming devices prior to transfusion. In such situations it is very probable that even more blood units may be needed. Therefore the units might need to be administered quickly.

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.

All sets of standard infusion can be processed by professional warming devices. They offer a backup battery, light-weight, and portable. It takes about 45 seconds to complete the setup, and they are disposable when the job is completed.

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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