While a group of Bair Hugger lawsuits awaits possible consolidation, a scientific study concludes the surgical warming system may have design flaws that could propel contaminants throughout the operating room.
The Bair Hugger warming system is used to prevent hypothermia in patients undergoing surgery with general anesthesia.
It consists of a blower unit attached by a hose to a disposable blanket that lies next to the patient’s body. The blower unit draws in air through a filter, warms it, and directs it through the blanket to keep the patient warm.
Since being introduced in 1988, the Bair Hugger has seen widespread use. It’s been used on an estimated 180 million different patients. There are now more than 50,000 Bair Hugger warming systems in use.
Bair Hugger Filtration Efficiency
The problem, according to some Bair Hugger lawsuits, is that the device may inadvertently drive contaminants towards the surgical site on the patient’s body, increasing the risk of infection.
One study, published in the American Journal of Infection Control in November 2010, concluded that the design of certain forced air warming devices that used the Bair Hugger 200708C filter was “inadequate to prevent the buildup and emission of microbial contaminants into the operating room.”
The researchers got five new filters of model 200708D directly from Bair Hugger and compared their intake filter efficiency to that of five model 200708C filters that had already been in use in hospitals.
They found a wide difference in filtration efficiency between the two filters: the filtration efficiency for the older 200708C model was 93.8 percent, while the filter efficiency for the newer 200708D model was only 61.3 percent.
The researchers also examined the performance of 52 different Bair Hugger model 505 warming systems, looking for internal microbial buildup and airborne contaminant emissions.
They found that 58 percent of the Bair Hugger blowers were generating and emitting airborne contaminants. They also found microorganisms of one type or another in 92.3 percent of the blowers.
The researchers commented that “popular FAW [forced air warming] devices in current use are of questionable design with regard to preventing airborne contamination emissions into the OR and possibly the surgical field.”
Bair Hugger Lawsuits
Allegations that the Bair Hugger could be increasing patients’ risk of infection have spawned a group of Bair Hugger lawsuits from plaintiffs who developed infections after surgery. The plaintiffs in these plaintiffs attribute their infections to the alleged design defects of the Bair Hugger warming system.
One plaintiff has requested that all Bair Hugger lawsuits in the federal court system be consolidated into a single multidistrict litigation. Such a consolidation would put all these lawsuits in a single court, under supervision of a single judge, so that pretrial procedures can be conducted more efficiently.
The Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation has heard oral argument on the request for consolidation, and their decision is pending.
In general, Bair Hugger lawsuits are filed individually by each plaintiff and are not class actions.
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