Platelet transfusion in chemotherapy patients: comparison of the effect of intravenous infusion pumps versus gravity transfusion.

Platelet transfusion in chemotherapy patients: comparison of the effect of intravenous infusion pumps versus gravity transfusion. Br J Biomed Sci. 2015;72(3):111-4 Authors: Meess A Abstract Platelet concentrates are given to patients suffering with severe thrombocytopenia usually by a gravity transfusion procedure. Increasing patient numbers that are in need of this treatment increase the pressure on hospital staff and space. In order to combat time issues, the use of medical devices such as intravenous infusion pumps are thought to be beneficial for time and simultaneously for safety in transfusion practices. By using infusion pumps, platelet concentrates can be transfused in less time and provide accurate volume measurements. Manufacturers of infusion pumps claim that these devices are safe to be used for blood products including platelet concentrates. However, published studies were performed on older models and newer devices are on the market now. The purpose of this study is to evaluate infusion pumps, which are claimed to be suitable for blood products and to investigate the impact the pumps had on platelets. Furthermore, the study revealed if the intravenous infusion pumps are safe to be used for platelet transfusion as claimed by manufacturers. A simulated transfusion was performed using the Carefusion Alaris GP Plus volumetric pump and Fresenius Kabi Volumat Agilia infusion pump. Samples were taken from expired platelet conc...
Source: British Journal of Biomedical Science - Category: Laboratory Medicine Tags: Br J Biomed Sci Source Type: research