HELP with pedi blood titration

Specialties Pediatric

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We took pedi last semester and this semester my instructor is making us do a worksheet on pedi math at the beginning and she put a question in there no on in the entire class can figure out because we never got it and I don't have my pedi book.

On pediatric blood transfusions for sickle cell, how are infusions titrated, for like a 300mL of packed RBC's and how do you calculate the final maintenance rate? If anyone could help me with this it would be very much appreciated.

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Specializes in Peds.

I'm not sure I understand the question. Blood can only hang for four hours, so the minimum rate for a transfusion of 300 mL of PRBCs would be 75 mL per hour. That is basic information related to blood transfusions. In peds patients the amount of PRBCs transfused is calculated based on a number of factors and rate is only one part.

But when we have sickle cell patients on our floor, the hematologist and the hematology NP decide how much blood to withdraw, how much blood to transfuse and how fast to do it. The last kid we had was getting a unit of ~300 mL over about an hour.

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Specializes in NICU, PICU, PACU.

ped-gree is right. The volume can be based on weight also, and you need to know how long the blood is ordered to hang, it could be as short as 2 hours.

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