Idea Exchange: A sock, some rice, and a microwave = one great IV fluid warmer

We make an inexpensive IV fluid warmer by filling a sock with uncooked rice and heating it in the microwave. We then coil the IV fluid line on the table (just upstream from the patient) and place the sock on top of the coiled fluid line. When microwaved for two minutes, our rice-filled sock heats up to about 150 F, which will warm fluid that is room temperature in the bag (about 75 F) to about 115 F when it drips out of the other end of the line (it may vary depending on the fluid flow rate). The fluid-warming effectiveness lasts about 20 minutes, and then the rice pack is heated again.

Dr. Thomas Cole

Oak Park, Calif.