Evaluation of five adult disposable operator-powered resuscitators

We evaluated the performance and safety of five adult disposable operator-powered resuscitators: BagEasy, Bag Mask Resuscitator, Pulmanex, 1st Response, and Stat Blue.

We tested the devices against the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) Standard F-920-85. We tested each resuscitator by using it to ventilate a lung model, the Bio-Tek VT-1 Adult Ventilator Tester.

All resuscitators met the requirements of VT 600 mL, f 20/min, and I:E less than 1:1. Standard F-920 specifies a fractional delivered O2 concentration (FDO2) greater than or equal to 0.85 with attachments and greater than or equal to 0.40 without attachments, at oxygen flows of 15 L/min and VE of 7.2 L (600 mL x 12). The Pulmanex with bag reservoir attached had a mean +/- SD FDO2 of 0.74 +/- 0.02, and the other four devices had an FDO2 of 0.93 +/- 0.02. Without attachments only the 1st Response and BagEasy had FDO2 greater than or equal to 0.40. All devices when disabled with simulated vomitus were restored to proper function within 20 s and were functional at O2 flow of 30 L/min. Only the Bag Mask Resuscitator did not pass the drop test. Only the Stat Blue did not pass the back-leak test.

Although we do not have practical experience with these resuscitators, we conclude that only 1st Response and BagEasy meet the ASTM standard for operator-powered resuscitators and that, of the devices tested, only the 1st Response and BagEasy are acceptable replacements for permanent resuscitators.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)