Wednesday, November 22, 2017

Important Information Concerning Reusable Blood Warmer

By Margaret Snyder


Typically, when you donate blood, it is stored in a refrigerator to enhance its life, if at that time is not transfused to a patient. The temperature in the refrigerator is lower than the standard blood body temperature. If you inject this ice-cold fluid into your body system, you may cause conditions like arrhythmias, shock, and hyperthermia. Therefore, you need to use the reusable blood warmer to provide the fluid with the appropriate and necessary temperature before you incorporate into the body.

They are classified in three categories following the technology or technique used to provide heat. They include dry heat that uses hot air, water bath devices that use hot water as a heating medium and lastly the countercurrent machines which use electric power to provide heating. The process of raising the temperature is usually done in the cabinets before being transfused into the patient or in line during the transfusion activity.

However, they are made without the ability to maintain or retain temperature. Once they make the fluid reach the set temperature, they cannot maintain that range until restarted. That is why, when the device accomplishes the goal, that is raising the temperature to around 37 degrees Celsius, it is now taken into the patient body. If this is not done, the fluid is likely going to lower the temperature again.

Nevertheless, they are able to provide heat and warmth to this fluid without affecting the functioning and structure of living cells like white and red blood cells as well as other cells. These devices are therefore important and are usually used during transfusion of large amounts of blood such as half or above half of the whole body volume. They also play important role in providing the necessary temperature when transfusion is to be done in a rapid manner.

When a patient is likely to suffer cold agglutinins, these devices become very beneficial is eliminating this negative effect. On the other hand, elderly, neonates and pediatric patients should be accorded special considerations before this can be done to them. Also, people suffering cardiac and chronic disorders should also be treated in the same manner.

The devices are supposed to be in operation mode prior to the exercise so as to provide temperature rise in a gradual and systematic way not in a random way that can affect the cells. When properly utilized, negative effects associated with cold temperature will not be experienced. The devices, on the other hand, are not disposed after a single use as they are reused. They are also convenient devices more the countercurrent that requires auto start-stop to keep the required temperature.

However, it has various disadvantages such as temperature maintain technology or failure. You can only prevent the heat loss by current warming, but you cannot be able to make the patient warm. Therefore, you need to use other methods such as blankets, warming, as well as pads as another alternative or remedies to conditions such as 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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