31 - 35 Physics SBAs for the Primary FRCA
Question 31
You ask your ODP to grab a second bag of fluid and a giving set, and they ask you which giving set you'd prefer.
Which of the following is true regarding fluid filters?
- Screen filters get more efficient as more units of packed red cells are transfused
- Epidural filters have a pore size of 0.5μm
- Platelets should be given through a dedicated giving set not used for any other blood products
- Depth filters are the most common in fluid giving sets
- Packed red cells need a filter pore size of 100-150μm
Answer
- Screen filters get more efficient as more units of packed red cells are transfused
Screen filters are the most common filter type in IV giving sets, and they get more efficient with each sequential unit of red cells as the effective pore size decreases.
Epidural filters have a pore size of around 0.2μm.
Ideally platelets shouldn't be given via a giving set that has previously had red cells pass through it, as they can stick to the red cells caught in the filter, but this doesn't mean no other blood products can be used.
Depth filters are less common, and absorb particles of around 10μm and larger.
Red cells need a filter size of around 170-250μm.