J Lab Med Qual Assur.  2019 Sep;41(3):161-165. 10.15263/jlmqa.2019.41.3.161.

Performance Evaluation of Infusion Systems for Red Blood Cell Transfusion

• Kim MS
• Kim JS
• Lim E
• Park H
• Hwang SH
• Oh HB
• Ko DH

• KMID: 2460780
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.15263/jlmqa.2019.41.3.161

Abstract

BACKGROUND
Transfusion in neonates and infants can be performed using an electromechanical infusion system that has appropriate accuracy in terms of flow rate, volume, and bolus. However, there are no infusion systems approved for transfusion in Korea. In this study, we evaluate the performance of two electromechanical infusion systems for transfusion in pediatric patients.
METHODS
We tested two systems, Baxter and Terumo, using 9 units of leukocyte-filtered red blood cells. The blood samples were delivered through the systems at constant speeds of 10, 30, and 100 mL/hr, and the accuracy in terms of the delivered volume was estimated. Before and after infusion, hemoglobin, hematocrit, plasma hemoglobin, potassium, and lactate dehydrogenase levels were measured in each sample. The percentage of hemolysis (%Hemolysis) was calculated to evaluate the safety of the infusion systems.
RESULTS
For Terumo, the mean error rate of the infused volume was less than 5%. We expect that Terumo can transfuse blood at a volume close to the set volume. Further, both infusion systems showed acceptable %Hemolysis levels (mean±standard deviation: Terumo, 0.14±0.04; Baxter, 0.17±0.06).
CONCLUSIONS
Both infusion systems can be used safely for transfusion in pediatric patients.

Keyword

Electromechanical infusion system; Accuracy; Hemolysis

MeSH Terms

Erythrocyte Transfusion*
Erythrocytes*
Hematocrit
Hemolysis
Humans
Infant
Infant, Newborn
Korea
L-Lactate Dehydrogenase
Plasma
Potassium
L-Lactate Dehydrogenase
Potassium