Reasons Why Blood Warmer Cuff Is Requisite During Transfusions

By Mark Cooper


The medical industry has grown exponentially over the last couple of decades to include delicate procedures such as organ transplants and transfusion. While the start of these procedures may not have been effective during the pioneer years, rapid growth in technology has resulted in astonishing successes being recorded. When undertaking transfusion, most medical practitioners today recommend the use of a blood warmer cuff.

There are many medical practitioners around the world, who are yet to comprehend why they need to incorporate this device among others in their medical procedures. However, to better understand the use of such devices, it would be prudent to begin with looking at some of the threats that doctors face during delicate surgical procedures. It is equally important that you get to sit down with your doctor and see whether they use these tools.

The body fluid you donate is usually stored at very low temperatures in banks. This is to avoid rupturing of cells, which will make the stored product useless. Patients who require transfusion at high volumes are most likely to be affected by the cold temperatures of the stored products. This condition is known to lower normal body temperatures to levels that are potentially harmful to the body.

Hypothermia, however, is not a condition associated with all transfusions. Patients in need of only a few pints of blood are unlikely to suffer from hypothermia. There are cases however, where patients lose too much of their internal body fluids, such as during massive trauma. This calls for massive transfusions of fluids into the body of the patient, making warmers a useful equipment to avert hypothermia.

It is important however, that when warming blood, temperatures should be checked to avoid hemolysis. This is where red cells are destroyed before reaching their normal lifespan. Such a condition would be counterproductive to the transfusion procedure. Once these red cells are destroyed, it would be useless trying to carry out a transfusion since the patient would only be receiving cytoplasm and plasma.

Besides patients needing the transfusion of warm fluids into their bodies, it is also recommended that these fluids are transferred at certain pressure rates. When it comes to pressure infusion, cuffs are one of the devices that could be used. When using this device, it is critical to follow the instructions of the manufacturer so as not to exceed the recommended pressure levels.

The use of these devices during transfusions can increase the odds of getting better clinical results. Conditions such as hypothermia are known to cause a number of clinical conditions including longer stay at the hospital. Lengthened stay at the hospital means paying more at the end of the day. With these equipment however, such scenarios are avoided and patients end up with superior clinical experience.

Today, nearly all clinics, hospitals and surgery facilities employ patient warming techniques in their procedures. Besides improving clinical results, they also work to improve the comfort of the patient during those procedures. This is why regulatory agencies are now making patient warming practices mandatory.




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