Elena88

Yeah Rapid infusers aren’t available everywhere, also in a prehospital setting you’d prob have a pressure bag not a rapid infuser

Thanks, yes I know the giving set is mentioned in local procedures and I’m happy with what that says, I just wondered what other places tend to do. My main question was regarding pressure bags and red cells, again the ideal pressure setting and all that is clear from procedures, the question was about “burping” or not of the blood bag when being given under pressure which is not mentioned in the procedures

Thanks for that. yes we also only use pressure bags in an emergency otherwise it will be pumped

I am aware of our local procedures, what I was asking isn't mentioned in any procedure notes hence why I've asked here. Regarding the giving set, depending on hospital the recommendation is changing sets every 2nd unit but I'm sure some hospitals say change after every unit so again I wanted to see what everyone else tends to do.

Hi guys, I've been overthinking a simple issue and was hoping someone here could help. If you're putting up back to back bags of packed red cells in a manual pressure bag (emergency situation where back to back units are being given as fast as possible)... do you use the same giving set between the units or do you have to change the giving set in between units? Also do blood bags have any significant amount of air in them that needs "burping" the same way as saline bags do when being given under pressure? I've just always been told you shouldn't actively squeeze blood bags as that can cause haemolysis so wasn't sure "burping" a blood bag was correct or necessary.

Yeah I think she saw blood in the line and thought the whole thing had to be changed. I just wondered if I was missing something! Cannula was definitely not in an artery. Thanks for the advice guys

This is the UK, some of our HCAs (healthcare assistants) can have training for cannulation although they don't normally put up IV fluids or flush lines so I'm not sure if this HCA did that with supervision from someone else. The line was clamped and disconnected from the cannula so the patient could go to the toilet (young fit person with stable vitals). This is in the emergency department. I clamped the line, disconnected with a small backflow from the cannula into the line. Then before I had the chance to see the patient after he returned from the toilet to reconnect his fluids, I was told the bag had blood in it so she changed the whole thing. I just can't understand how the blood could have gone past the fully shut clamp to get into the bag. On a separate note, maybe in this case it would have been better to flush the line via the line flush port, then clamp then disconnect? The bag was not lower than the patient, it was on the IV hanger attachment behind and above his bed and his cannula was antecubital fossa this is the giving set used: Baxter IV Fluid Giving Set - Supplied singly or in boxes of 1

The line was clamped higher near the bag but there was a small amount of backflow of blood near the cannula when disconnecting from the patient. Then one of the healthcare assistants told me there was some blood in the bag so she'd changed the whole thing to a new bag. Which now thinking about it, the blood shouldn't have back flown into the bag past the clamp...So then is there a need to change the whole bag for a small amount of back flow in the IV line itself or can that just be reconnected?

Question for experienced nurses...do you have tips and tricks for stopping backflow of blood into the line or the bag of fluids when the fluids don't need to be run under pressure? Especially if the line has to be disconnected for patient to get up or for administering something else in between. I did this and the blood in the IV line made its way back to the bag so we had to change the whole bag of fluids. Also is it correct to change the bag if there's some blood in it from the patient's own cannula?