Hi everyone,
I wanted to add my thoughts to this debate.
I've been using the e flow for over five months now and like I've said in previous posts, it certainly has some advantages like its quiteness, portability (assuming you have immediate access to demineralised water and stove top) and ability to reduce the time it takes for meds to be nebulised.
However, I've reverted back to using my Pari proneb whenever I can simply because I found that the areosole head became clogged too quickly when I commenced hypertonic saline treatment. I don't buy the argument "that if you clean it properly it will last six months" .... I've been extremely fastidious with my e flow, I would rinse it in tap water immediately after use and I always boiled it in demineralised water after each use. It worked reasonably well when I only put Ventolin (our version of albuterol) and Pulmozyme, but as soon as I introduced daily hypertonic saline, the unit ceased functioning because the areosole head became clogged.
Hypertonic saline by its nature will of course speed up the time by which the areosole head will become clogged.
There are pluses to the e flow but there are also many disadvantages to the e flow that I think people need to consider. Hopefully with time and an increase in cf users who give honest feedback about the unit, will there be acknowldgements from Pari that improvements should be considered. So far, my feedback here in Australia has fallen on deaf ears, I'm simply told "if you use it properly ..." blah blah.
