Addition of bacterial filter alters positive airway pressure and non-invasive ventilation performances

Claudio Rabec (1) , Emeline Fresnel (2) , Yann Rétory (3) , Kaixian Zhu , Karima Joly , Adrien Kerfourn (2) , Benjamin Dudoignon (4) , Alexis Mendoza , Antoine Cuvelier (5) , Jean-François Muir (6) , Boris Melloni (7) , Jean-François Chabot (8) , Jésus Gonzalez-Bermejo (4) , Maxime Patout (5)

1 Service de Pneumologie Soins Intensifs, Appareillage Respiratoire [CHU de Dijon]
2 CORIA - Complexe de recherche interprofessionnel en aérothermochimie
3 UVSQ - Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines
4 CHU Pitié-Salpêtrière [AP-HP]
5 Service de pneumologie, oncologie thoracique et soins intensifs respiratoires [Rouen]
6 CHU Rouen
7 Service de Pathologie respiratoire et allergologie [CHU Limoges]
8 Service de Pneumologie [CHRU Nancy]

Recently, one manufacturer of home ventilators alerted about the potential risk of serious injury related to the use of some of their positive airway pressure (PAP) and non-invasive ventilator (NIV) [1]. The risk is caused by the polyurethane foam used in their ventilators. In some cases, the foam broke into the blower and could have been inhaled by patients. The manufacturer and some healthcare regulatory agencies advocated, as a temporary solution, to modify PAP and NIV circuits by adding an inline bacterial filter in order to reduce the risk of inhalation [2]. However, changing ventilator circuits can alter ventilators performances during PAP and NIV [3].

Domaines: Pneumologie et système respiratoire

Claudio Rabec, Emeline Fresnel, Yann Rétory, Kaixian Zhu, Karima Joly, et al.. Addition of bacterial filter alters positive airway pressure and non-invasive ventilation performances. European Respiratory Journal, 2022, pp.2102636. ⟨10.1183/13993003.02636-2021⟩. ⟨hal-03550404⟩