Reconstituted RBCs and CRRT

[butlermom]

Does anyone perform Continuous Renal Replacement Therapy at your institution?  We have done this for two pediatric patients, one earlier this year and another very recently.  The order is for a certain amount of blood reconstituted to a specified hematocrit with FFP.  It's just like preparing a unit for an exchange transfusion.  What I didn't know until recently is that this blood is only used for priming the machine and does not enter the patient at all.  We've been preparing labels and issuing the units as if they are being transfused to the patient.  Does anyone have any experience with this and how do you document the reconstituted unit if it is not really transfused to the patient?  I suppose I could attach a note with the product in the computer indicating its purpose was for priming only.

[Kashmira patel]

My understanding of the process is that this priming is done in small pediatric patients to avoid filling the tubing with patient's blood. The reconstituted blood does enter the patient and hence considered transfused to the patient.