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Tuesday, October 24, 2017

Important Information Concerning Reusable Blood Warmer

By Margaret Snyder


It is obvious for donated blood to be refrigerated if it is not transfused to a patient after it has been donated. This is because if it is not done so, there is a high risk of it getting spoilt or dead. Therefore, this means the temperature has to lower down in a range that can be harmful to the body. In fact, when a patient is infused with this fluid when it is very cold he or she can get conditions like arrhythmias, shock or hypothermia. Therefore, as a way of reducing and eliminating these risks, reusable blood warmer provide the required and acceptable temperatures on the fluid prior to or during transfusion process.

These devices are of different kinds depending on their technique of warming and the technology used. The first type uses the method of dry heat. Other types are the countercurrent and using the water bath. You need to do this during the process of in-line warming or before transfusion. However, the device does not offer the methods of retaining heat despite being made with a technology which prevents loss of heat.

Once you raise the temperature to the one required which is thirty-seven degree Celsius, you transfuse the fluid into your body since when you don't do it, it will naturally cool down to where the temperature was initially. Additionally, it can provide heat without interfering with the living cells like WBC and RBC.

In most cases, these devices are used during mass transfer of blood or to patients who require more than fifty percent of the body blood volume. They are also used when the volumes to be administered requires urgency or need to be done rapidly. This is because, if a large amount is transfused when cold the mentioned cases are likely to occur due to temperature lowering beyond the recommended range. They are also used when the patients receiving the blood have cold agglutinins.

However, it is important to have certain specific considerations before administering the procedure to patients who are elderly, pediatric, neonates, as well as those with chronic infections and cardiac dysfunction. However, the device should be operating before the entire exercise begins. One of the reasons being that it cannot be switched on, at the same time, it is has provided the required temperature.

These devices are advantageous since the patients can acquire the body temperature which is necessary and the side effects such as the cold or low temperature get eradicated. Moreover, you do not have to dispose of the device together with the storage and bags. You can use again and again. You only need to fix the device in a body, or a bag in case of countercurrent and then switch it on and start operating.

However, it has certain limitations such as failure or temperature maintain technology. It can only prevent loss of heat by active warming but does not have a way in which the patient can be kept warm. That is why other methods like warming, water, blankets as well as pads can be used as another way or remedy to conditions like hypothermia.

They are not effective in providing warmth as other ways like using hot water baths, blankets, and pads do better than them in reducing hypothermia. However, their use cannot be compared with cold transfusions.




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