You’ve wanted to stop blowing air anyway.
Now is the time to switch to air-free HotDog Patient Warming!
In August 2017, the FDA –addressing clinician concern about the safety of forced-air patient warming (FAW)—issued a Letter to Healthcare Providers, assuring them that FAW was safe.
That letter has been removed from the FDA site.
All links to the FAW Letter are dead. A search of the entire FDA database, including Letters to Industry (Medical Devices) reveals no Letter. All traces of the Letter seems to have been wiped from the FDA Archive—which should contain all historic documents.
Curious…although recent events regarding 3M’s Bair Hugger FAW might offer an explanation.
The 8th Circuit Court of Appeals restored 6,000 implant-infection cases to the federal docket, stating:
“[T]here is significant support for the proposition that the Bair Hugger independently is capable of disrupting airflow so as to transmit bacteria to the surgical site….”
Stanford University researchers reported in the Journals of Infection Control and Epidemiology on “Bair Hugger: A potential enemy within the operating room.”
On July 6, 2022, 3M announced that it is exiting the healthcare business completely—spinning it into a separate company. According to 3M, the focus of the new healthcare technology company will be “wound care, oral care, healthcare IT, and biopharma filtration” — no mention of Bair Hugger at all.
For much of 2022, Bair Hugger blankets have been on back-order, allegedly because of “supply chain problems.” 3M’s customer service offers no projection as to when the issue may be resolved.
The actual reason the FDA removed its recommendation regarding FAW may someday become public. Whatever the reason, it would seem like the perfect time to make the switch to air-free HotDog Patient Warming!
HotDog Patient Warming will significantly improve normothermia outcomes by warming above and below the patient simultaneously with an easy-to-use, efficient, and cost-effective solution.
