Student question re: warmed fluids

[Altra, BSN, RN]

In the ER where I work as a tech, several bags of NSS are kept in the blanket warmer for (rare) hypothermia pts. (small 19-bed ER)

When I did my OB rotation last month I happened to be perusing some articles posted in the nurses station re: administration of fluids and I recall seeing something about avoiding storing fluids in a blanket warmer because the temps fluctuate too much. I'd like to look into this practice at our ER but I no longer have access to the article and I don't remember the source.

I went to the INS website but, as a non-member, I can't access the Standards.

Can any of you point me in the right direction -- can fluids be stored safely in a blanket warmer? For how long?

TIA.

[IVRUS, BSN, RN]

IV solutions, like blood, should only be warmed with an approved warming devices. A k-pad is not one of them. The problem is not only erratic heat distribution, but you run the risk of warming it to too high of a temperature which may cause the components that make up that plastic bag to "leach" into the IV solution.