[News] RECALL THREAD-- IMPORTANT PHILIPS DREAMSTATION & SYSTEM ONE USERS

[mesenteria]

If a few people actually have the effrontery, and the feeble memory, of thinking we urged them to purchase these machines, and have accused us of same, they should be reminded in unambiguous terms that we routinely advise that people purchase what we think are the better machines: ResMed.  Further, if they purchased in good faith from a public retailer, then their own estimate was that everyone involved acted in good faith; who throws their money away in good faith?!?!  How could a site dedicated to helping people sort out their various issues with their nocturnal breathing be sanctioned when we don't even advise that people purchase a certain line of machine if they have the choice?

Boy, that's rich.  A whole lotta nope coming from me.

[racprops]

racpropsNow for the hard one a Dreamstation.

Please note the notes in the pictures.

Please do this at YOUR OWN RISK!!!

I am providing the information as a visual record of what I did.

I do not suggest you do the same. OK



That's some good work, was your foam falling apart?

No but I wanted to not take any more risks...

Rich

---

If you are concerned, a better fix might be JB Weld.  It is supposed to be non toxic and food safe.  The 5 minute set stuff would probably be plenty strong.  You might just want to scuff the plastic up a little with sandpaper first to help it get good adhesion.

Thanks that is a good idea. I am also concerned that the foam helps control the air flow as the BiPap seems not as good as before.

Curses on Phillips.

Rich

I'm sure it has an affect on the airflow, I saw a video of it last week where I saw that the air chamber was sealed.  I'm using an inline filter until Phillips opens up the registration tomorrow (I have an auto bipap too).

Last night my Dreamstation seemed to work great.  Check out my charts.

The only concern is ONE sensor seemed to get input though the foam.

Rich

[racprops]

Excellent point, which most of us often forget.

There are a significant number of DMEs that are neither high-volume or nor very profitable.  They won't be earning much on this recall servicing, if anything.  Once the recall gets enough awareness, their phones are going to be ringing off the hook from customers who all want immediate results.

Nah.  The reaction to this is WAY overstated.  The percentage of folks that actually care - or will act - is exceedingly small.  This list is a bubble of strange ducks.  What's more, the concern or worry or fixation here should not be construed or extrapolated to the population.  Except for a very tiny subset of PAP users, they will never know there WAS a recall.  Until they watch late night TV .....  And the vampires, er, the "let me turn your misfortune into my wealth" lawyers.....



I feel the same way.. The stuff in our food is exponentially worse for our health, but it's still not good.  I have inline filters now on my hose/mask connection so I don't have to worry about this until it's fixed, but with how screwed up the whole system is I'd wager that there's foam on the interior air chambers on some Resmed devices too...

I was told by a shop that repairs both systems and was told Resmed does not have any foam inside.

I ordered a Resmed.

Rich

[ICEMAN]

Does it only apply to US Machines ????????????????????? 


 recall notification (U.S. only) / field safety notice (International Markets) advises patients and customers to take the following actions:

 
For patients using life-sustaining mechanical ventilator devices:
 

• Do not stop or alter your prescribed therapy until you have talked to your physician. Philips recognizes that alternate ventilator options for therapy may not exist or may be severely limited for patients who require a ventilator for life-sustaining therapy, or in cases where therapy disruption is unacceptable. In these situations, and at the discretion of the treating clinical team, the benefit of continued usage of these ventilator devices may outweigh the risks.
  
  
• If your physician determines that you must continue using this device, use an inline bacterial filter. Consult your Instructions for Use for guidance on installation.
  

 
For patients using BiLevel PAP and CPAP devices: 
 

• Discontinue use of your device and work with your physician or Durable Medical Equipment (DME) provider to determine the most appropriate options for continued treatment. 
  

[WakeUpTime]

I ordered a Resmed.

Rich

I'll probably go the same route.  Philips doesn't seem to be approaching this very well.  They seem to be dragged into it, rather than trying to get ahead of it and become a quality manufacturer who's looking out for the best interests of users of life-altering medical equipment.  

The Philips site tells Philips suppliers that registration details for the recall will arrive by official letter sometime next week - one week after the news is being widely reported by the media to any users of Philips equipment.

I disagree with the earlier poster who thinks this isn't a big deal.  US$600M (to start), which I think is just for the U.S. version of the recall, is significant.  3-4M users in the U.S. alone is significant.  This will surely get picked up by other countries eventually.  Although many suppliers are quality companies, some are merely sellers who aren't going to be willing or able to support customers very well. There are some who purchased used equipment.  They'll likely be ignored by Philips.  

Philips either needs to get ahead of this and/or provide substantially better tools and support to its dealers on this issue. I've seen this happen to several quality names over the years. Those that don't get ahead of it and appear to do everything to resolve the issue quickly and easily for end-users (through whatever means) usually end up in the courts.

[Gideon]

What to do now.

Facts: PR HAS issued a "voluntary" recall (read it) on nearly all of their machines (not the new DS2) stating that the sound deading foam can break down and enter the airstream and pass into your lungs. Also this foam can degas and potentially cause serious medical conditions.

IMHO this is serious and I strongly suspect that it will take some time for PR to complete the recall actions.

So what should you do now.
1 stop using the popular ozone based CPAP cleaners since per PR they have contributed to the problem.
2 if you even suspect you are having problems with the foam or off gassing, immediately take steps to replace your machine with either a DS2 (if appropriate) or better IMHO, a ResMed machine.
3 follow PR's instructions for the recall

I have read several user accounts where they believe their CPAP is affecting their physical health in a manner consistent with what PR has described.

How at risk are you? I don't know, but if you don't and haven't used ozone (especially) or UV cleaners or keep your CPAP in high temp or humid environments you should be at lower risk of the medical complications described by PR, I suspect, don't know, this is a large majority of the devices. Still PR is currently recalling all of them.

Mitigation actions

1 use a standard no heated hose and a anti bacterial filter which will catch all the particles and none of the gasses. Note that this increases the resistance of your system and you may need to return your system. High pressure users nearing the capacity of the unit may see additional performance drop off.
If the antibacterial filter catches the powdered foam replace your CPAP ASAP

Per PR's recall all impacted machines should be replaced or repaired. Everyone should be moving in this direction.

[WakeUpTime]

The statement in the Philips press release says "the benefit of continued usage of these therapy  devices may outweigh the risks identified in the recall notification” is absurd in the extreme.

I’m supposed to choose between cancer or a heart attack?

This is a SNAFU big time.  Philips looks to be dragging its feet.  Replacement of the cancer-causing machines needs to happen ASAP.  The following are known good email addresses to executives at their Pittsburgh office:

dreammapper.support@philips.com
pcms.support@philips.com
dave.curry@philips.com
pesc@philips.com
Respironics.service@philips.com

It's indeed sad that, through their very slow and limited response, they've let it come to this.  There are going to be a lot of anxious Philips users going forward.  Anyone, after years of Philips machine use, who might later develop serious lung related issues, might now point to Philips as a possible cause.

It's just a matter of time before all the many issues related to the recall, as a result of the many different categories that people are in, are consolidated together by a law firm - notwithstanding those who may have already been seriously harmed by the Philips design flaw.

[JJJ]

Has anyone checked what has been happening to PR stock prices on the markets?

[WakeUpTime]

Although the Philips press release stated that the recall is for the U.S. only, I just noticed a document from the health authority in Hong Kong stating that Philips has setup a telephone number and department specifically related to those 20,000 affected users.  So it seems it's already beginning to go beyond the U.S.  

It seems the Hong Kong government has an active response for the recall, although they only have 20,000 affected users compared to the 3-4M affected users in the U.S.

16 June 2021 – (Hong Kong)   The Hong Kong Department of Health (DH) today received a notification from manufacturer, Philips Respironics, on its voluntary recall of certain models of ventilators.

The Department of Health has alerted the Hospital Authority, private hospitals, nursing homes, and medical professionals of the recall today.

If you are using any of the affected devices, please call the hotline set up by the manufacturer (2821 5797) for enquiries and follow-up from 9am to 6pm on Mondays to Saturdays," the spokesman added.

Just noticed that ResMed's stock is up $40 over the past 30 days - most of that increase is within the last 7 days, so they're clearly the big beneficiary of the Philips recall.  The Philips company is very diversified and is only down 4% over the past month.  Resmed was/is the better play and players were quick to jump on that opportunity a week ago.  

JJJ
Has anyone checked what has been happening to PR stock prices on the markets?

[Guilhermedico]

I noticed that at least one law firm, Bronstein, Gewirtz & Grossman in New York City, is already soliciting affected users of Philips Respironics devices who might be willing to serve as plaintiffs in a class action lawsuit against the company.

Although I have been a member of Apnea Board for three months, since around the time I purchased my Philips Respironics DreamStation Auto BiPAP device from an online respiratory equipment provider, this is my first post on this site, so I am unable to include a hyperlink for members interested in inquiring about the above-cited law firm's potential suit. If you simply search on the Web for the law firm's name and "CPAP", "Philips", and "recall", you should be able to locate the link.

I suspect that additional U.S. law firms may also be considering initiating their own class action suits, particularly as awareness about this respiratory device recall becomes more widespread.