The use of heat and moisture exchanger (HME) filters and breathing system filters in the OR, the ICU, as well as other settings, helps to address concerns commonly associated with mechanical ventilation: proper humidification of inspired air and cross-infection.
An HME that is in use on a patient should be changed if it malfunctions mechanically or becomes visibly soiled, but HMEs should not be routinely changed more frequently than every 48 hours.
The HME sits over your stoma as you breathe through it, warming up the air and making it moister in the process. It does this by “catching” the heat and humidity of exhaled air, and then transferring it to the air you inhale. To really see the benefits of your HME, you need to wear it all the time. If you haven’t used an HME before, your lungs may start to produce more mucus. This is completely normal, and will settle down within a couple of weeks once your lungs have adapted to the new HME filter.
Clinical studies clearly show that a hygroscopic and hydrophobic HME can be used safely for seven continuous days of mechanical ventilation in all ICU patients except patients with COPD.