The VAMP (Venous/Arterial Blood Management Protection) system is designed to reduce infection, needle sticks and blood waste associated with conventional blood-sampling methods.
Credit
Matthew Manor
Kingston Health Sciences Centre (KHSC) is working to make sure patients keep as much of their blood as possible with a common-sense approach that has reduced blood transfusions by 46 per cent in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU).
KHSC’s new blood conservation efforts began in 2023 with the switch to low-volume blood test tubes, resulting in an 11-per-cent drop in blood transfusions. Since then, blood demand has dropped four times that initial reduction with the addition of daily reassessments of bloodwork needs and the introduction of a device that returns patients’ unused blood to them.
Of the three quality improvements, only the needleless blood conservation device comes with an added cost. However, this expense has already been recovered approximately 300 times, considering the hundreds of blood units that have been conserved in the past seven months.
“The device paid for itself within days,” says intensivist Dr. Christine D’Arsigny. “It’s a wise investment that has decreased the blood wastage that comes with traditional blood-sampling techniques, significantly decreased the subsequent need for blood transfusions, and is associated with reduced infection as it is a ‘closed system’.”
When drawing blood from an intravenous (IV) line, the first 5ml is typically discarded because it is diluted with the sterile solution that clears the tube of residual blood and medications, making the sample unsuitable for testing. When a patient’s blood needs to be taken several times a day, for multiple days, this can add up quickly.
With the new device, the first 5ml of blood that gets mixed with the clearing solution is collected into a reservoir away from the port where an undiluted sample is taken. After collection, the blood held in the reservoir is given back to the patient instead of being wasted.
Patients experience no discomfort with the device; and with a potential reduction in infection, they benefit from shorter hospital stays.
By helping patients in the ICU not lose too much blood for laboratory testing, KHSC care teams are aiding recovery, preventing complications like anemia and reducing the need for blood transfusions.
