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Transporting blood products through pneumatic tube system


YorkshireExile

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I`m working in a new hospital and we had a pneumatic tube system installed to transport specimens from the wards to the lab. I`ve now been asked to see if it is okay to transport blood products through the pneumatic tube (in appropriate special containers). At first the thought of doing this horrified me, but there are papers published that say this is okay. Is anyone doing this with their blood products? Presumably it might be useful to send products to the OR quickly, but what about checking the units and the documentation involved? I can forsee many problems!

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We've sent tens of thousands of units through our pneumatic tube system.

We have numbered/designated, padded/insulated containers for blood products.

To request blood be released from our department we have a paper form with patient identifiers and product needed.

We use this to match the patient info to the crossmatch/assignment card and to the patient's info in the computer system.

We document a few details relating to the blood issuance in the computer and on the form.

We keep a copy of the form in the blood bank, send a copy with the blood product, and set a blood bank timer for 15". (I hear some newer tube systems have integrated delivery receipt/timers/whatnot - ours doesn't)

The RN checks that the blood received is for their patient and shoot us the form/pneumatic tube back to us as confirmation of receipt.

If the timer goes off before we get the form/tube back, we call and annoy them until they comply (and to confirm they receive the blood, of course).

We only send blood to certain locations and only send red cells/ plasma. We don't send blood for a patient with any special transfusion requirement (e.g. antigen-negative, irradiated, etc.) anything that would be difficult, costly, or time consuming to replace.

Good luck! There's plenty of info out there to help you validate the process.

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Also, I believe if you search this site you will find a few threads covering this topic.  I know I've responded to a few of them.  In 2002 we moved to a new facility that had a pneumatic system capable of transporting blood products.  It was the best thing that ever happened to us.  AABB has since come out with a validation program for pneumatic tube systems.  It's a little more thorough than we went through but then we were making up things as we went along.  One of the things it did for us was stop the need to send blood to OR and ICU in coolers.  The transport times were measured in seconds so the need for coolers went away.  The nurses really enjoyed not having to come all the way to the transfusion service to pick up blood for their patients.  I'm not sure why the thought of transporting blood in pneumatic tubes horrified you but rest assured many have been doing it for a number of years and there have been few if any problems.

Good luck, you won't regret it.

:eyepopping:

Edited by John C. Staley
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To Auntie-D 

 

Can you share a reference for that?

 

It's listed under pharmacological products unsuitable for tube transport.

 

I cannot find the BNF link right now (or the American equivalent) but there are a few hospital pharmacy guidelines available online.

 

These prohibit immunoglobulins

 

http://store.thomasland.com/medsshouldnotbetrans2011wallchart.aspx

 

http://www.learningace.com/doc/4984488/9753e4bb98644e16683848a8dcdc17d1/pneumatic-tube-guidelines

 

This one specifically states Rhogam

 

http://www.mc.vanderbilt.edu/pharmacy/web/documents/DoNotTube.pdf

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We send PRBC, FFP, and PPH through the tube. We send it by "secure send" which means the tube system alarms and will not drop the tube out until the security code is entered. We also call the floor if we don't get the tube back in a timely manner. Maintenance can track any tube in the system and we have never lost a unit yet! (Knock on wood)

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Thanks for the information John. You mention that AABB has a validation program for the pneumatic tube system. Is it available on their website? I had a look at couldn`t find it anywhere, but maybe I was looking in the wrong place.

 

I believe this is what he was referencing:

 

Guidelines for Pneumatic Tube Delivery Systems: Validation and Use to Transport Blood Components

 

http://marketplace.aabb.org/EbusPPROD/Default.aspx?TabID=55&ProductId=624

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