Blood or fluid warmers are an essential part of medical treatments as well as emergency care. When used correctly, these fluid warmers can help greatly to reduce the chances of hypothermia and consequently save patients from severe consequences including death. These blood warmers are available in different types including portable and other ones that may be used according to the requirements and settings. But how can you choose the perfect fluid warmer for your needs? What are the standards that must be taken into consideration for choosing the right fluid warmer that matches your requirements and fulfills all your needs? Today we are going to discuss the things you must check while selecting the most appropriate fluid warmer for your settings and needs. So let’s start.
These are the things to consider when selecting a blood/fluid warmer set:
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Agency’s requirements
The most important task you need to do before selecting the right fluid warmer is to carefully examine the needs of your agency. For this reason, you will need to consider all the medical services you can provide in your respective field. For example, if you are in the field of Emergency Medical Services (EMS) where you work mostly in situations that are not controlled, a portable fluid warmer will be the best choice for you as it is lightweight and easy to use. On the other hand, if you are thinking of introducing blood warmer in medical settings like hospitals or clinics you might want a stationary blood warmer as situations are mostly controlled in hospitals during treatment.
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Trusted brand
After carefully considering your agency’s requirements you will need to compare the available brands to select the right blood warmer for you. This can be done by consulting other professionals who are using your interested blood warmers or by simply looking at different studies comparing different blood warmers. Comparing different brands can help you to choose the most suitable brand for your needs.
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Easy to use
The next thing to consider after finding a trusted brand is to find out a blood warmer that is easy to use. Any machinery that is too complex to use will have more chances of errors while operating. The more complex the operation of a blood warmer is, the more there are chances of mistakes while using it. As blood warmers are really important medical devices, it is highly significant to choose easy-to-use blood warmers that reduce the chances of any errors during treatment.
Fluid warmer
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Patient safety
The blood warmer you choose to use should be safe for the patients. Most of the blood warmers available in the market are safe to use for patients but there are certain things that you must consult with your supplier about before purchasing and installing the blood warmer. These things include safety mechanisms, for example, overheating safety mechanisms, over and underheating alerts of the system, thermal shutdown mechanisms, and, so on. Therefore, you must consult your supplier about anything that might be a threat to your patient’s safety.
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Cost
Buying new equipment for your agency is not an easy task. Apart from choosing the best equipment, you will also need to bear in mind the major factor of managing the cost of the equipment. You must select a cost-efficient suitable blood warmer that is most appropriate for your agency and also cost-saving.
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Reliable power source
The blood warmer you select to use should have a reliable power source that makes sure the efficient working of these systems. For example, if you are planning on using battery-operated blood warmers, you must have powerful batteries. You must also consider the need for having extra batteries always available to replace the old ones and try to have battery capacity double the amount which you need to avoid any problems while using.
Portable fluid and blood-warming device
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Immediate warming and temperature adjustment
Blood-warming devices now use specialized technologies that allow these systems to work more efficiently. Contrary to the technology previously used in blood warmers where a heating element was used to directly make contact with the cassette, the most advanced blood warmers use a technique to adjust the warming according to the flow rates. These blood warmers also sense the blood temperature hundreds of times per second to ensure that the patient gets the blood or fluid warmed at the exact right temperature.
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High flow rate capability
It is highly significant that the patient gets warm fluids and blood throughout the transfusion to avoid the risk of hypothermia which is a decrease in the patient’s core body temperature. Hypothermia can lead to other undesirable consequences that can be life-threatening. Therefore, to avoid hypothermia and maintain the patient’s core body temperature while giving blood it is important to warm blood before use and for this reason, the blood warmer you select to use should be able to warm fluids at a fast rate.
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Capable to warm intermittent bolus
Bolus flows are used for patients that are sick and need extra care and for this reason, it becomes much more important to ensure that the blood warmer you choose can warm intermittent bolus. Contrary to continuous flow, intermittent flow uses push-pull methods or hand-operated pumps to infuse fluids in a short period. This means that the flow rate is not constant and the blood or fluid warmer you choose must be able to detect these changes in the flow and react accordingly.
High flow blood and fluid warming
Conclusion
Blood or fluid warmers are specialized devices that are available in a wide range of varieties in the market. Due to the vast variety of these warmers available in the market, it can become a challenging task to find the most suitable one to fulfill your requirements. This needs to take into consideration many important factors including requirements, brand, cost, ease of use, patient safety, reliable power source, continuous temperature monitoring and adjustment, and, the ability of the blood warmer to provide warm fluids at a fast rate. By carefully observing all these factors you can select the best blood warmer that fits well for all your needs.
PhD Scholar (Pharmaceutics), MPhil (Pharmaceutics), Pharm D, B. Sc.
Uzma Zafar is a dedicated and highly motivated pharmaceutical professional currently pursuing her PhD in Pharmaceutics at the Punjab University College of Pharmacy, University of the Punjab. With a comprehensive academic and research background, Uzma has consistently excelled in her studies, securing first division throughout her educational journey.
Uzma’s passion for the pharmaceutical field is evident from her active engagement during her Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm.D) program, where she not only mastered industrial techniques and clinical case studies but also delved into marketing strategies and management skills.
