Smiths Medical HOTLINE 3 Blood and Fluid Warmer

About the HOTLINE® 3 Blood and Fluid Warmer

The HOTLINE® 3 Blood and Fluid Warmer (Model HL-390-38) is a well-established routine-flow fluid warming platform from Smiths Medical — a product line now distributed by ICU Medical following its acquisition of Smiths Medical. The HL-390 is the third-generation evolution of the original HOTLINE® fluid warmer platform. It builds on its predecessor (the HL-90) with a redesigned mounting block and a new L-370 disposable set that traps recirculating solution in the tubing when disconnected, improving portability and enabling patient transfer between the OR and recovery room without losing the warming circuit. The HL-390-38 is the 38°C setpoint version operating on 115V; a 40°C setpoint version (HL-390-40) is also available. Both models are intended for use in operating rooms, ICUs, recovery rooms, and emergency departments where patients require normothermic IV or blood product delivery.

How the HOTLINE® 3 Warming System Works

The HOTLINE® 3 system works by maintaining a continuously warmed recirculating solution reservoir within the warmer unit itself. The recirculating solution is heated to a setpoint of 37.5°C (±0.5°C) and pumped through the outer lumen of the L-370 triple-lumen disposable warming set, which surrounds the sterile IV patient line. This design ensures that the infusate inside the IV line is progressively warmed along the entire 2.4-meter (8 ft) length of the warming set — all the way to the patient’s IV access site — without ever coming into direct contact with a heating surface. Because the recirculating solution completely encircles the patient line, the system is inherently free of hot spots. The primary temperature control circuit limits the recirculating solution to 38°C maximum. An independent secondary watchdog circuit provides a backup safety shutoff — it visually and audibly alarms and stops the recirculating pump if temperature climbs to 39.2°C, operating entirely independently of the primary circuit. This dual-circuit safety architecture means the IV infusate is never exposed to damaging or dangerous temperatures during normal operation.

HOTLINE® 3 Improvements Over the Original HL-90

The HL-390 platform introduced several meaningful clinical and operational improvements over the earlier HL-90 model. The redesigned mounting block and L-370 disposable connector features built-in locking tabs that secure the set with an audible click, replacing the threaded O-ring connection used in the HL-90 / L-70 system. Critically, when the L-370 set is removed from the mounting block, internal valves in the connector close automatically — trapping the recirculating solution in the tubing rather than draining back to the reservoir. This allows the patient warming line to be transferred with the patient from the operating room to recovery and reconnected to a different HL-390 warmer without interruption, something that was not possible with the earlier platform. When using the hydrogen peroxide recirculating solution protocol, the HL-390’s O-ring design eliminates the need for monthly lubrication, reducing preventive maintenance requirements from every 30 days to annually — a significant time savings for biomedical engineering teams.

Setup, Maintenance, and Service

The HOTLINE® 3 Warmer is shipped without recirculating solution; the reservoir must be filled with 1.4 liters of the appropriate recirculating solution before first use. The unit clamps to a standard IV pole and must be mounted no higher than 107 cm (42 inches) from the floor — this height is marked on the power cord for reference. Maintenance is scheduled at three frequencies: after every use (clean exterior and inspect), every 30 days (disinfect reservoir and change isopropyl alcohol solution), and every 12 months (disinfect reservoir and change to hydrogen peroxide solution, plus full alarm, temperature verification, and electrical safety tests). There are no user-serviceable parts inside the warmer; all internal service must be performed by Smiths Medical / ICU Medical or competent authorized personnel. IPR Medical’s biomedical team provides repair and calibration services for the HL-390 platform and can assist with annual verification testing support.

IV Sets and Consumables

The HOTLINE® 3 requires the L-370 HOTLINE® 3 Fluid Warming Set for each patient use. The L-370 is a single-use, sterile, latex-free disposable set with a triple-lumen design, a priming volume of approximately 20 ml, and a length of 2.4 m (8 ft). It connects to the HL-390 mounting block with a locking connector and an audible click. Optional accessories include the L-10 Gas Vent (designed to reduce microbubble outgassing when fluids are warmed), the PC-8 piggyback connector, and the YC-8 Y-connector. The HLTA-390 TEMP CHECK thermometer accessory is used for periodic verification of recirculating solution temperature calibration during annual maintenance. IPR Medical stocks L-370 sets and other HOTLINE-compatible consumables — providing a single-vendor source for both the warmer hardware and the disposable sets it requires.

FDA Device Corrections and Safety Bulletins

The FDA’s medical device database lists a Class 2 device recall for the Smiths Medical HOTLINE 3 Blood and Fluid Warmer (FDA recall ID 110397). Class 2 recalls indicate situations where use of the device may cause temporary or medically reversible adverse health consequences, or where the probability of serious adverse health consequences is remote.

Separately, Smiths Medical / ICU Medical issued a significant safety communication regarding a potential aluminum leaching risk associated with the HOTLINE® fluid warming platform and other fluid warmers that use aluminum heating elements. Under certain conditions — particularly when specific solutions or blood products are warmed at lower flow rates over extended periods — aluminum heating elements have the potential to leach aluminum ions into the heated fluid. If warmed fluid containing elevated aluminum is delivered to a patient, it could lead to aluminum toxicity. Reported potential clinical effects of aluminum toxicity include anemia, seizures, coma, and in severe cases death, though at the time of the Smiths Medical announcement, no confirmed injuries or deaths had been linked to this issue in the HOTLINE platform. Smiths Medical’s recommended mitigations focused on clinician awareness of conditions that increase leaching risk — particularly extended low-flow-rate warming of certain solutions — and conducting clinical benefit-risk analysis prior to use in high-risk populations, including infants, pregnant individuals, the elderly, and patients with poor renal function.

Because FDA device corrections and safety communications may be updated or expanded after the date of this listing, IPR Medical recommends that facilities also check the FDA’s official resources directly to ensure they have the most current information.

IPR Medical — Service, Parts, and IV Sets

IPR Medical buys, sells, and repairs HOTLINE® 3 Blood and Fluid Warmers and stocks compatible L-370 disposable sets and HOTLINE-compatible IV administration sets. Whether your facility needs a replacement HL-390 warmer, L-370 warming sets in volume, service support for an existing unit, or assistance with annual maintenance verification, IPR Medical’s biomedical team is ready to help.

IPR Medical buys, sells, repairs, and stocks parts and IV sets for the HOTLINE® 3 Blood and Fluid Warmer. Contact us at 855-477-8866 or cs@iprmed.com.

Repair service: IPR Medical also repairs this type of equipment in house, with a free shipping label, a free evaluation and a 90-day repair warranty. See our repair service.

Trademark Notice: Smiths Medical, and all other brand names, model names, and part numbers shown are trademarks of their respective owners and are used on this page only to identify the original manufacturer’s equipment offered here, consistent with nominative fair use. This listing is offered by IPR Medical, an ISO 9001:2015-certified independent service organization, and is not sponsored by, affiliated with, or endorsed by Smiths Medical.