Safety Alert for heartstart mrx defibrillator/monitor m3535a and m3536a

Safety alert

2017-06-21

2017-06-21

Hong Kong

DH

https://www.mdco.gov.hk/english/safety/recalls/recalls_20170621.html

Medical device safety alert: philips medical systems heartstart mrx defibrillator/monitor m3535a and m3536a the medicines and healthcare products regulatory agency (mhra) of the united kingdom has posted a medical device safety alert concerning heartstart mrx defibrillator/monitor [model number: m3535a and m3536a], manufactured by philips medical systems. according to the manufacturer, 71 mrx units may have been built with a defective component that is intended to protect the internal circuitry from high voltages during shock delivery. these devices may fail over time, as repeated shocks continue to be delivered. should the device fail, the device will no longer be able to deliver shocks in aed mode. the serial numbers of the affected products are as follows: us00601802, us00601968, us00601969, us00602114, us00602122, us00602124, us00602125, us00602126, us00602127, us00602128, us00602145, us00602180, us00602182, us00602184, us00602185, us00602186, us00602187, us00602189, us00602206, us00602236, us00602237, us00602238, us00602239, us00602240, us00602241, us00602242, us00602243, us00602244, us00602245, us00602246, us00602247, us00602248, us00602250, us00602251, us00602252, us00602253, us00602254, us00602344, us00602345, us00602346, us00602347, us00602348, us00602349, us00602350, us00602351, us00602352, us00602353, us00602354, us00602355, us00602356, us00602357, us00602358, us00602359, us00602360, us00602361, us00602362, us00602363, us00602364, us00602365, us00602366, us00602367, us00602368, us00602369, us00602370, us00602371, us00602372, us00602373, us00602374, us00602375, us00602376, us00602377. during internal testing, the manufacturer became aware that the affected mrx units contain a component defect . the defective component is a gas discharge tube (“gdt”) used to protect other sensitive components within the mrx from the internal high voltages associated with defibrillator shocks. the defective gdt may cause other components to fail after repeated delivery of shocks. this failure may prevent the mrx from automatically detecting critical arrhythmias while in aed mode, due to excessive artifact on the pads ecg. shocks delivered in manual mode with pads and external paddles are not affected; however, the artifact on the pads ecg may interfere with the user’s ability to promptly and accurately identify a shockable rhythm. according to the manufacturer, if the mrx is being operated in aed mode and experiences this inability to shock, there will be a delay in delivering any needed shock therapy until either: a replacement defibrillator is found and delivers a shock or an advanced life support user changes the mrx to manual mode, places the ecg monitoring electrodes to make rhythm determination, if needed, and delivers a shock. in some cases, the user may detect the issue if the mrx fails during a shift check, weekly shock test or operational check (op check), which should be performed periodically, as directed in the instructions for use. for details, please refer to the mhra’s website: https://www.Gov.Uk/drug-device-alerts/field-safety-notice-12-to-16-june-2017 if you are in possession of the affected products, please contact your supplier for necessary actions. posted on 21 june 2017.