Khaya-warmer: blood warming in a resource-constrained setting

Abstract

in a 1 000 ml water bath preheated to 46°C. Using a 4-probe electronic thermometer, we measured the following temperatures: ambient, PRBC bag, water bath and outflow. Results: Mean outflow temperature was 35.2°C (95% CI 35.1–35.4); mean emptying time 9.0 minutes (95% CI 8.7–10.2) with a mean flow rate of 25.4 ml.min -1 (95% CI 24.1–26.6). Conclusion: The Khaya-warmer proved to be effective in safely warming cold PRBC units to a mean temperature of 35.2°C using a cost-effective method. Future studies include investigating various flow rates using a pressure bag or a flow regulating device, and to replace the preheated water bath with a thermally insulated flask.