Novel and highly reliable leak check tests for drop- and external pressure-type cell-free and concentrated ascites reinfusion therapy
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Published on: May 31, 2019
Yasuko Kobayashi1,2, Nana Ozawa1,2, Tamami Yoshida1,2
1Department of Clinical Engineering, Shinshu University Hospital, Matsumoto, Nagano, Japan.
Introduction:
For safe management of cell-free and concentrated ascites reinfusion therapy (CART), a highly reliable leak test for detecting ascites filter damage is essential. However, such a test has not been established for drop-type CART.
Methods:
We devised two novel leak tests for drop- and external pressure-type CART, manual or pump pressurization methods, using high-pressure loading and pressure monitoring, and investigated their reliability.
Results:
Both methods could easily load and maintain sufficiently high pressure (>400 Torr) on the hollow fibers for 2 min. No result deviation was noted between different operators. The pressure drops in both methods were identical and significantly lower than those in the leak test using a special CART machine, the e-CART.
Conclusion:
The reliability of our revised leak test is equivalent to that of the automatic leak test of e-CART. These highly reliable leak tests may contribute to safety in patients undergoing drop- and external pressure-type CART.

