Neonatal PRBC Infiltrate

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Specializes in Neonatal ICU (Cardiothoracic).

Hey,

I was wondering if there were any special techniques for managing PRBC infiltrates other than the standard heat/elevation, etc? I had a double transfusion running through a single 24ga PIV over 6 hours, and watched it like a hawk. It finally infiltrated as I was flushing the catheter after the PRBCs were done. No real edema, just an instant "bruise." Any ideas for future reference?

(BTW, all we use are 24s in neonates, and run our PRBCs over 4 hours via syringe pump. We can't run blood products through our 1-2fr PICCs or umbilical catheters because they are too small, and usually have other stuff running through them.)

Thanks!

Steve

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Specializes in NICU, Infection Control.

I had one of those once. They do NOT go away, @ least for a very long time. It does not hurt the baby (of the tissues) like a Ca++ burn would. I'm not sure if Wydase would help or not, I think when mine happened, we couldn't get it for some reason.

Reassure the parents it doesn't hurt. I think it went away eventually.

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