tube collapse and the failure of the delivery of pressure

General Discussion on any topic relating to CPAP and/or Sleep Apnea.
sleepy1235
Posts: 248
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tube collapse and the failure of the delivery of pressure

Post by sleepy1235 » Sat Nov 22, 2014 4:21 pm

This may be well known to many of you, but just for those you might not be aware and for people doing google searches.

The tube connecting your face mask or nasal pillows to the CPAP machine typically has some outer rings in it to keep it open. However, depending on the design the air may be conducted by a tube inside the outer tube and it might be made of flimsy material. It might not have any structures keeping it open.

Having this happen, the pressure recorded indicated the pressure was as set. However, inhaling quickly stopped all flow out of the relief port. This impacts your therapy.

The CPAP is putting out the pressure, but when you inhale you aren't getting the pressure.

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Re: tube collapse and the failure of the delivery of pressure

Post by Guest » Sat Nov 22, 2014 4:37 pm

sleepy1235 wrote:This may be well known to many of you, but just for those you might not be aware and for people doing google searches.

The tube connecting your face mask or nasal pillows to the CPAP machine typically has some outer rings in it to keep it open. However, depending on the design the air may be conducted by a tube inside the outer tube and it might be made of flimsy material. It might not have any structures keeping it open.

Having this happen, the pressure recorded indicated the pressure was as set. However, inhaling quickly stopped all flow out of the relief port. This impacts your therapy.

The CPAP is putting out the pressure, but when you inhale you aren't getting the pressure.
Which mask has this type of tubing?

sleepy1235
Posts: 248
Joined: Sat Jul 27, 2013 8:15 am

Re: tube collapse and the failure of the delivery of pressure

Post by sleepy1235 » Sat Nov 22, 2014 4:44 pm

It was the tubing that came with the nasal pillows for my S9 Elite Resmed.

It was sold by American Home Patient. It was given to me when I picked up the machine.

I checked my file folder and I don't see any information on the hose, just the CPAP machine. Sorry.

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Re: tube collapse and the failure of the delivery of pressure

Post by Guest » Sat Nov 22, 2014 4:49 pm

sleepy1235 wrote:It was the tubing that came with the nasal pillows for my S9 Elite Resmed.

It was sold by American Home Patient. It was given to me when I picked up the machine.

I checked my file folder and I don't see any information on the hose, just the CPAP machine. Sorry.
So it's not the mask tubing but the 6ft tubing connecting the mask to the machine. The tubing is made for and distributed by AHP.

Can't say I ever heard of this tubing collapse happening.

JDS74
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Re: tube collapse and the failure of the delivery of pressure

Post by JDS74 » Sat Nov 22, 2014 5:55 pm

Looking at the hoses that I have, a few from Respironics and one from ResMed, the construction seems similar.
There is a continuous spiral of plastic wrapped around an inner liner that provides a smooth airflow surface for the interior. Outside of that is another layer of very thin plastic that appears to be shrink wrapped around the whole assembly.
The rubber hose ends are that attached to form the hose.

One could imagine a hose building facility that has a 6 foot long mandrel onto which the inner plastic liner is placed. Then the plastic spiral is wound around the length and the final, outer sleeve is added and shrink wrapped to form the assembly. The shrink wrap process should permanently adhere the inner and outer layers together trapping the coil between them.

It is just speculation that a materials failure could occur that allowed the inner liner to separate from the hose end and the outer sleeve at the CPAP end of the hose and that it could continue to separate and form a blockage within the hose itself. That would create the symptoms that the OP is reporting. With a mask with a working anti-asphyxiation device, it would be possible to sleep through such an event and not notice until the data was looked at. It would look like an excellent night with the exception of the wave data being a flat line all night after the failure. You might see just one hugely long obstructive apnea event .

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chunkyfrog
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Re: tube collapse and the failure of the delivery of pressure

Post by chunkyfrog » Sat Nov 22, 2014 7:02 pm

Off-brand tubing that separates could be deemed a hazard.
Show it to your doctor, and ask him to specify "no third party parts" in your prescription.
You might also send images to the FDA, and file a complaint.
About time some of those dirt bags felt a little heat!

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sleepy1235
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Re: tube collapse and the failure of the delivery of pressure

Post by sleepy1235 » Sat Nov 22, 2014 10:53 pm

JDS74, I think your explanation is correct.

The tubing was bent at a sharp angle to accommodate a tight spacing and this is probably what separated it.

Thanks.

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JDS74
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Re: tube collapse and the failure of the delivery of pressure

Post by JDS74 » Sun Nov 23, 2014 8:25 am

sleepy1235 wrote:JDS74, I think your explanation is correct.
The tubing was bent at a sharp angle to accommodate a tight spacing and this is probably what separated it.
Thanks.
BTW, did you do a postmortem exam to look at the point of failure? It would be interesting to have some details on how the ends are attached to the tubing without sacrificing a good hose.

_________________
Mask: Oracle HC452 Oral CPAP Mask
Humidifier: DreamStation Heated Humidifier
Additional Comments: EverFlo Q 3.0 Liters O2 PR DSX900 ASV
Oracle 452 Lessons Learned Updated
DSX900 AutoSV with HC150 extra humidifier and Hibernite heated hose
Settings: EPAP Min-10.0, EPAP Max-17, PS Min-3, PS Max-10, Max Pressure-20, Rate-Auto, Biflex-1.
Sleepyhead and Encore Pro 2.21.

sleepy1235
Posts: 248
Joined: Sat Jul 27, 2013 8:15 am

Re: tube collapse and the failure of the delivery of pressure

Post by sleepy1235 » Sun Nov 23, 2014 9:13 am

Good idea. I didn't think of that. Will do.

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Re: tube collapse and the failure of the delivery of pressure

Post by Guest » Sun Nov 23, 2014 10:21 am

sleepy1235 wrote:JDS74, I think your explanation is correct.

The tubing was bent at a sharp angle to accommodate a tight spacing and this is probably what separated it.

Thanks.
Does that mean the tubing was damaged when it was bent at a sharp angle?