Advantages Of Using Blood Warmer Cuff During Medical Procedures

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.

To avoid cases of hypothermia, medical practitioners recommend the use of warmers. These devices warm fluids that are about to be transfused into patients. This device is not used in all transfusions. It is only recommended during cases where the patient requires large transfusions, such as those that have gone through massive trauma. This is why it is vital for your doctor to conduct a series of tests before recommending warming of fluids.

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.

When these devices are used, patients record superior clinical results. Hypothermia, for instance, is known to lengthen the stay of the patient at the hospital since it makes them recover slower than usual. Looking at this from the perspective of paying bills, it is more costly to the patient. Thanks to these devices however, patients do not have to worry about the severe consequences of hypothermia.

Patient warming practices are used in surgery centers, clinics and hospitals to improve the comfort of the patient and clinical outcomes. However, this is also one of the policies set by regulatory agencies, which doctors have to comply with. All the same, their use has more advantages than their disadvantages.




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