Frequently Asked Questions
We’ve compiled answers to your most common COVID-19 and Medela Suction Pumps related questions
What are you looking for?
We’ve compiled answers to your most common COVID-19 and Medela Suction Pumps related questions
What are you looking for?
Yes, our Dominant Flex, Basic, and Vario 18 medical suction machines are available with a virus filter capable of reducing cross-contamination from COVID-19 with filtration efficiency of greater than 99.99987%.
In selecting suction systems to support care of COVID-19 patients, prioritize options that offer additional measures to avoid cross-contamination to ensure staff and patient safety.
Our portable suction machines are designed with specific features that reduce risk of cross-contamination:
For more information, read our article "How to Avoid Virus Cross-Contamination of Medical Vacuum Suction Pumps with Virus and Bacteria Filters"
Yes - for COVID-19 patients, it is especially important to follow strict hygiene procedures. For example:
For comprehensive recommendations on fulid waste management, download the Medical Suction and Fluid Waste Management Whitepaper by Joint Commission International.
Dominant Flex, Basic, and Vario 18 medical suction machines are available with a virus filter capable of reducing cross-contamination from COVID-19 with filtration efficiency of greater than 99.99987%.
When the Thopaz system is in use, surgical fluids, gases, bodily fluids or infectious materials are pulled through the chest tube via the suction tubing into the canister. To prevent cross-contamination the system is protected by a hydrophilic overflow and bacteria filter from POREX® located in the canister. The protection filter consists of a 3D-structure made of polyethylene which attracts aqueous solutions and swells immediately by closing the pores, when in contact with liquid. It ensures that the pump draws filtered air from the canister (Medela Validation Test Report).
Our produts help Covid-19 patients who receive mechanical ventilation by providing regular suction toremove secretions as the virus can cause inflammatory processes in the lung. Therefore, it is recommended:
*NHS England advises against use of wall suction systems in infectious disease units: Novel coronavirus (COVID-19) standard operating procedure. NHS England website.
The following Medela vacuum pumps are mobile and independent from central (piped) vacuum systems:
This is an unprecedented time for all of us. As hospitals around the world are working to expand capacity and set-up temporary care facilities, the demand for airway & surgical suction pumps and digital chest drainage systems has increased significantly.
To help address this global public health crisis and ensure supply of the most urgent products, we are carefully managing our entire supply chain and have built a dedicated team who is continuously assessing the situation and works with our suppliers and partners to ensure timely delivery of our products and continued safe manufacturing.
We are working on tripling production of our Dominant Flex, Basic, and Vario 18 suction pumps, which provide the mobility essential for care in settings in which access to central hospital vacuum is unavailable or unadvised.*
Additionally, the production of Thopaz+ digital chest drainage and monitoring systems will be increased to fill the demand for autonomous chest drainage systems.
For more information about how Medela is committing to serving all our customers, patients and employees, read this statement.
*NHS England advises against use of wall suction systems in infectious disease units: Novel coronavirus (COVID-19) standard operating procedure. Visit NHS England website here. Accessed 30 March 2020.
Transmission of COVID-19 is primarily through droplet spread. “Aerosol” is a general term used to describe a range of particle sizes that can be propelled by coughing, talking and sneezing, as well as by certain aerosol generating procedures (see table 1 here). It appears extremely unlikely that aerosols that could develop at pulmonary air leaks could travel over 2 meters through a chest drainage system (chest tube, chest drain tubing, and the chest drain unit) without impacting the surrounding surface at some point. In case that virus particles make it to the chest drain unit, there is a possibility that they are delivered into the environment as all chest drain systems, conventional analogue and digital ones, have some sort of venting for positive pressure compensation. There are, however, differences in how they release air into the environment. The Thopaz/Thopaz+ system has been designed with the positive pressure valve located at the side of the canister facing the pump so that air will be directed towards the pump when a patient should cough. The only other exit port to the environment on Thopaz/Thopaz+ is the exhaust at the bottom. Even in the unlikely event that a condensate was to form in this area, it would only drop to the surface below and not be aerosolized.
During ventilation, positive pressure inflates the lungs and can generate an artificial positive pressure in the pleural space. Thopaz+ quickly detects this and restores the set pressure, which is negative, and displays a flow rate triggered by the ventilator.
All chest drainage systems, including Thopaz+, react to this positive pressure. The ventilator controls airflow rather than the drainage device, i.e. tidal volumes: 500 ml per inspiration cycle or 7 ml/kg body mass.
What sets Thopaz+ apart from other drainage systems are the alarms that alert staff to a leak in the system.
If there is a small air leak (or no air leak) in COVID-19 patients, the patient can be put on the desired pressure level – even for longer periods of time.
Since the patient is not breathing spontaneously, or has very shallow breathing, the patency check does not work on ventilated patients. The small difference in pressure in the pleural space during inhalation and exhalation is not detected by the device.
During the coronavirus pandemic, hospitals continue to care for patients on cardiothoracic and respiratory wards, as well as in critical care units, who need chest drains for pneumothorax.
[1] Pompili et al. Ann Thorac Surg. 2014 Aug;98(2):490-6
[2] McGuire et al. Interact Cardiovasc Thorac Surg. 2015: 1-5
Yes. Thopaz and Thopaz+ provide safer patient care while minimizing the risk of cross-contamination.Thopaz canister with integrated filter is proven to effectively retain pathogen-sized particles and hence prevent them from subsequently exiting to the environment via the exhaust.
Indeed, there are: Per the CDC’s Interim Infection Prevention and Control Recommendations for Patients with Suspected or Confirmed Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Healthcare Settings, dedicated medical equipment should be used when caring for patients with known or suspected COVID-19.
Additionally, robust hygiene procedures should be utilized, with increased attention to practices that reduce risk of cross-contamination.
Recommendations to reduce risk of infection spread include:
For more information, the article "Reduce infection Risk with 4 Simple Strategies for Waste Disposal" explains each of the above recommendations in detail.
Yes, indeed! In COVID-19 treatment settings, take care to ensure that routine cleaning and disinfection procedures are followed consistently and correctly. Use cleaners and water to pre-clean surfaces prior to wiping down with an EPA-registered, hospital-grade disinfectant.
For complete cleaning instructions, refer to the Guidelines for Cleaning, Disinfecting and Sterilizing Medela Healthcare Products.
The US Environmental Protection Agency recommends a wide range of disinfectants to be used against SARS-CoV-2. Of those, the following are recommended for use on the plastic surfaces of Medela Healthcare products:
Additionally, non-EPA listed disinfectants recommended and tested by Medela are:
We recommend changing the filters:
Due to currently high infection risk, it might be advisable to change the filter daily.
On top, we recommend:
No, the pore size of the bacteria filters is not sufficient in this case! Please use the Medela virus filters.
We recommend changing the liners:
Due to currently high infection risk, it might be advisable to change the liner daily.
Please comply with your in-house directives on hygiene.
Yes, you can use the Reusable Collection System (RCS) with Vario, Basic and Dominant Flex pumps. However, for the treatment of COVID-19 patients, we recommend using the Disposable Collection System (DCS) in order to help reduce contamination of staff and patients during waste disposal.
As hospitals around the world are seeking to expand their capacity and set-up temporary care facilities, the demands for our mobile airway & surgical suction pumps increased significantly. We are doing everything in our power to meet these urgent demands and are working on tripling our production capacity as quickly as possible.
If you are interested in obtaining Medela systems in your hospital, please contact our sales teams, or find your local representative or distributor here.
We are committed to providing robust support during this time, while maintaining the safety of our employees and customers. We have compiled a library of inservice resources to help you get your new systems set-up and operational. Please refer to the page on chest drainage for more information on Thopaz+. For additional support, our service representatives are available for personalized support. To request additional support via phone and email as usual. To request aditional support, contact us.
Medela will adhere to the relevant guidelines and regulations regarding the limitation of in-person contacts in order to limit contagion risk. Additionally, we believe training should occur in a comfortable and secure environment in order to achieve the desired benefits. As such and depending on the development of the COVID-19 situation, we recommend virtual trainings.