Phillips / Philips Respironics recent recall notice discussion thread

[Pugsy]

Hey everyone...in view of today's recent notice from Phillips Respironics about the recall of some of their machines and people likely to be creating multiple threads about it and it cluttering up the forum, I am going to create this one thread for all discussions pertaining to this topic as I am sure it will get hotter with time.

Here's the link to the official Phillips press release
https://www.usa.philips.com/healthcare/ ... src-update

I am not going to try to merge the other already existing threads with this one because when I merge topics the reply comments get all screwed up and it is hard to follow who is talking to who. Big mess to try to understand.
What I will do is lock those threads and add a post to refer to this thread for further discussion.

Try to keep all the Phillips Respironics recall discussion confined to this one thread.

In no particular order...the threads started just this morning.

http://cpaptalk.com/viewtopic.php?p=1386193#p1386193

http://cpaptalk.com/viewtopic/t182243/P ... thing.html

If I miss one....just let me know

I can't seem to locate the exact wording from Phillips for why they are doing the recall but I will look later when I have time.
This is NOT related to just ozone cleaning devices use...Phillips has said that foam degradation could be from heat, humidity and/or ozone device use.
Just because you never used an ozone cleaning device doesn't mean you are immune from the recall.

[Desert mans wife]

I'm new to CPAP world. Just got diagnosed in April, bought Dream Station 1 early May. Glad I just bought the Human Design Medical's Z2 and it was delivered on Friday.

[jimbud]

You just locked some of my best stuff (luckily I have a very low bar).

JPB

[ChicagoGranny]

Independent of CPAP machines, you are literally surrounded by polyurethane foam every minute of the day. There was over 2.3 billion pounds produced in NAFTA countries in 2018.

[biztraveler]

Are people actually going to stop using their machines? On one hand, I have sleep apnea and I need to treat it. On the other hand... Philips KNOWS that this material is a risk. That they don't KNOW OF any instances doesn't mean it hasn't happened. These are forcing air into your lungs 6-8+ hours per day. The material degrades. They are spending hundreds of millions of dollars recalling these. That's enough for me to know this is a legitimate problem.

[Pugsy]

That they don't KNOW OF any instances doesn't mean it hasn't happened.

I don't know how much of that part of their statement I believe anyway. I am of the opinion that they know a lot more than they are letting on. You don't go spending hundreds of millions of dollars recalling 400 million machines without knowing something isn't hunky dory and being scare shitless about it. It's how big business works. They don't spend that much money without a damn good reason.

[biztraveler]

Philips noted that the foam degradation may be exacerbated by use of unapproved cleaning methods, such as ozone, and high heat and high humidity environments may also contribute to foam degradation.

Patients using affected BiLevel PAP and CPAP devices are urged to discontinue use of device and work with physician or Durable Medical Equipment provider to determine the most appropriate options for continued treatment.

Further, patients using affected life-sustaining mechanical ventilator devices are asked not to stop or alter prescribed therapy until being talked to physician. The benefit of continued usage of these ventilator devices may outweigh the risks identified in the recall notification.

So Philips has made the risk calculation that PAP devices aren't worth the risk of using, while ventilators are.

The recall was issued only to the Unites States customers in consultation with regulatory agencies to mitigate the risks related to the PE-PUR sound abatement foam component in these devices. For the rest of the world, the company has given a field safety notice.

Why? What is in that note?

[cr1977m1]

Does anyone have any idea if Resmed has a similar issue with respect to foam?

[gadgetmaniah]

Independent of CPAP machines, you are literally surrounded by polyurethane foam every minute of the day. There was over 2.3 billion pounds produced in NAFTA countries in 2018.

But in the case of using a CPAP, you're breathing air directly into your lungs for hours each night. So that probably has a larger risk than the things mentioned in the graph. The risk of injury from the foam breakdown/toxic gases in Philips' machines is probably low, but it is still there. Better to be safe than sorry I guess.

[Dreaming1]

Chicago Granny - Pretty sure everyone thought that about Teflon too...a little in your eggs is fine. Nothing to see here. They wouldn't possibly put a forever chemical that causes cancer in products, knowingly decades after they were aware of the results and data, much less keep it quiet longer than they should or try to make it out to be less than it is. It was in your pots and pans, your cars, dental floss, popcorn bags, parchment paper, light bulbs, waffle makers, blah blah blah. Put that in your alarm pipe and smoke it.

[ChicagoGranny]

Chicago Granny - Pretty sure everyone thought that about Teflon too...a little in your eggs is fine. Nothing to see here. They wouldn't possibly put a forever chemical that causes cancer in products

PTFE (Teflon) is inert and has never been shown to cause cancer. PFOA is one of the raw materials that was used until 2013 to produce PTFE. PFOA is believed to increase the risk of certain cancers in industrial plants not using proper worker protection.

[babydinosnoreless]

Does anyone have any idea if Resmed has a similar issue with respect to foam?

I am wondering about this too ?

[ChicagoGranny]

Does anyone have any idea if Resmed has a similar issue with respect to foam?

I am wondering about this too ?

ResMed stock rose 4% today on news of the problems at Philips. If the analysts know their stuff, ResMed does not use the same material in their machines.

[Pugsy]

Does anyone have any idea if Resmed has a similar issue with respect to foam?

I am wondering about this too ?

None that we have heard of except the known problem with the foam in ResMed machines reaction to ozone "cleaning".
I suspect that a different kind of foam is used in ResMed machines.
After all...not all Respironics machines are affected so they probably have a different kind of foam in them as well.

[Julie]

Whew! Don't have to worry about my back-up machine that I'm using at the moment because... it's pre-2007 (a 2006) so isn't included!

https://www.cpap.com/productpage/respir ... auto-cflex

And it's working great!