If a blood transfusion is given too quickly, ie 2 hours instead of 4 hours, is there any reaction or side effe

Answer 1

The only side effect I have ever heard of from giving over 2h is a little bit of tingling or burning in the arm it is given in. The other side effects are from what's in the blood. Giving blood over 2 h is not going to put them into fluid overload unless they have other IVs in the other arm going at the same time--and it is usually hospital protocol to not let that happen.

Answer 2

If there is no injury and blood flow isnt been restored to tissue that has had interupted blood flow. Then you are talking about Volume overload. Here is a list of possible effects.

Hypothermia

Cause: Rapid infusion of large volumes of stored blood contributes to hypothermia. Infants are particularly at risk during exchange or massive transfusion

Citrate toxicity

Cause: Citrate is the anticoagulant used in blood products. It is usually rapidly metabolised by the liver. Rapid administration of large quantities of stored blood may cause hypocalcaemia and hypomagnesaemia when citrate binds calcium and magnesium. This can result in myocardial depression or coagulopathy. Patients most at risk are those with liver dysfunction or neonates with immature liver function having rapid large volume transfusion.

Potassium Effects

Cause: Stored red cells leak potassium proportionately throughout their storage life. Irradiation of red cells increases the rate of potassium leakage. Clinically significant hyperkalaemia can occur during rapid, large volume transfusion of older red cell units in small infants and children

They all talk about massive transfusion which is:
Massive transfusion is arbitrarily definied as the replacement of a patient's total blood volume in less than 24 hours, or as the acute administration of more than half the patient's estimated blood volume per hour.

So unless its a massive transfusion the reactions or side effects will be those that are assoicated with normal transfusion.

See links for futher information about blood transfusion.

Answer 3

IN SHORT, BLOOD IS THE WORST THING TO GIVE A PATIENT BECAUSE IN NEARLY EVERYONE, THERE IS A REACTION TO SOME DEGREE OR ANOTHER. THE SPEED THAT THE TRANSFUSION IS GIVEN OVER HAS AN INFLUENCE ON THE DEGREE OF THE REACTION (I.E. THE FASTER THE TRANSFUSION, THE MORE LIKELY A SIGNIFICANT REACTION IS TO OCCUR). THAT SAID, DUE TO ADVANCES IN SCREENING AND CROSSMATCHING, EVEN SEVERE REACTIONS ARE FEW AND FAR BETWEEN AND THEY ONLY REALLY OCCUR BECAUSE ESSENTIALLY THE WRONG TYPE OF BLOOD IS GIVEN (THOUGH THAT IS A SIMPLIFICATION OF THE TRUTH).

A TWO HOUR TRANSFUSION IS UNLIKELY TO CAUSE A SIGNIFICANT REACTION, AND HIGHLY UNLIKELY TO CAUSE ONE THAT CANNOT BE MANAGED EFFECTIVELY.

Answer 4

Fluid overload can occur when you receive too much fluid through transfusions, especially if you have not experienced blood loss before the transfusion and if the person has a history of certain cardiac problems,such as congestive heart failure the extra fluid can cause problems with that

Answer 5

If a person has cardiac issues there is a huge risk for congestive heart failure. That is quite a bit of fluid being introduced in the body that quickly and the heart just can't keep up. The patient will begin to have a hard time breathing, feel bloated, blood pressure may increase...all the symptoms of CHF. Good luck to you.

Answer 6

yes. your head can swell to the size of a small beachball.
doesn't hurt until they pop it...