Recommendations for a better travel compressor

[Rebjane]

We have a Pari Vios for travel. It is just a terrible compressor for all my daughter's treatments. On a daily basis she does 8 nebs a day and we usually use the mobilaire at home(just not practical to bring for travel).

It is stressful to not have a good compressor for travel; what do you all recommend. THis past trip the medications would just not finish so her treatments were basically "half finished". It was just for a few days but really not ideal...

 

[Ratatosk]

We ran into similar issues with our Pari Vios and I was thinking maybe it's outlived it's usefulness. I use disposable sidestream nebs if he's not on Tobi; however, I've found he has to sit a certain way and can't use the mask, so he can't fall back asleep. It still worked okay this weekend when I used a pari neb cup and mask. I know in the past when I inquired about the pari trek I was told it didn't have enough PSI for Tobi or Pulmozyme. Pari supposedly makes a Pari Vios Pro now, which is a little more heavy duty, but looking at it online and reading the literature, didn't see much of a difference -- assumed it was just marketing.

In the past we've used Devilbiss Pulmoaide, which has had good ratings and worked well; however, the one tested for pulmozyme and tobi is a bulkier model -- not as bulky as the Invacare/mobilaire -- it's just not compact like the VIOA.

 

[stylecomfy]

Hi Rebjane, I know this is not actually answering your question, but is there any reason you don't use an eFlow nebulizer instead of a compressor at least for when you travel? In my opinion, nothing beats the eFlow in terms of the size + silence + speed convenience. When the aerosol head is new it is ridiculously fast but it does slow down as it gets more clogged after a few months. Cleaning it is the only pain, on the road it has its challenges but can be overcome.

As for travel compressors, I unfortunately don't have any suggestions because all the portable ones I've tried for traveling have been awful, they just are not strong enough and the frustration of sitting waiting for treatments to finish while on vacation is the worst.

*By eFlow I actually mean the 'e-Base' controller round device with the various nebulizer parts like the eRapid for most meds, or Altera which is adapted for Cayston. (I tend to get mixed with these, here's an old thread explaining it, read MissAlexsBP's comment which includes a response from Pari http://forums.cysticfibrosis.com/sh...h-Lc-Plus-nublizer-efficiency?highlight=eflow)

But good luck, and let us know if you find a good compressor for travel.

 

[Rebjane]

The eflow question is a good one. I think it is expensive, about $1000...As well as do you need one aerosol head for each medication? I guess I am not too informed on the eflow and not sure how it all works...

 

[stylecomfy]

Hi Rebjane, yes it is expensive! My insurance paid 80% and I have to pay for my replacement aerosol heads out of pocket, however I STILL feel it is the best nebulizer I've ever had and due to all the time saved and ability to take it with me anywhere (it runs on rechargeable batteries too), I feel it is worth the cost and the small hassle of cleaning.

I'm not sure about the formal recommendation on using different aerosol heads, but I mostly use the same one in one session as I figure I'd be getting the same level of residual medication mix as in a compressor neb. I do empty out + wipe out the medication chamber before adding the next med.

The only exception to this is that while always I use hypertonic saline in it, I feel like the salt causes the most damage to the aerosol head (I might be imagining it). So in the session where I do the HTS, I sometimes switch to an older aerosol head just for HTS, and then back to the 'good' one to finish the abx.

Cleaning it is a bit of a process but there are ways to make it easier. I have a little electronic egg boiler, the kind that takes 7 eggs and you pour water in and it steams for about 5-10 minutes? It's just the right size to fit 1 neb so I use this to sterilise the plastic handset and aerosol head since you can't sterilise in the microwave due to the metal in the aerosol head. Note, this is just a hack I came up with NOT what they actually recommend for cleaning. There is also a 'backwash gadget' that came with mine where you reverse clean it and this helps maintain the aerosol head, this I only do once or twice per month.

 

[jmgunz]

I use the Pari Trek when I travel. Like your daughter, I do 8 treatments a day. I like the Pari Trek because it is lightweight and compact, plus it has a battery option, and the cord is ac/dc, good for when traveling out of the US. Plus, it comes in a convenient carrying pouch. When I travel, I bring one battery pack and two Pari Trek compressors. Everything fits into the small travel pouch. I bring two of the actual compressors #1) in case something happens to one (especially convenient when I fly somewhere, because I can split them up - one in my carry on, and one in my suit case), and #2) I like to switch between them halfway through my long treatment sessions so they don't get overworked (e.g. first two treatments on one, the other two treatments on the other). I don't always switch back and forth, though, and nothing bad happens when I don't. It still takes about 10-20 minutes per treatment, but that's the same amount of time it takes on my big compressor at home.

I've never had trouble doing pulmozyme or TOBI/other inhaled antibiotic nebs on the Pari Trek.

Also, I've found the travel compressors should be replaced every 3 years or so, depending on how much they're used.

Anyway, that's the system that works for me. Hope this helps!

 

[Ratatosk]

It would be interesting if we could get someone from one of the respiratory companies to respond to this post. Years ago I'd contacted Pari specifically about the Pari Trek and received an email indicating they did not recommend it for Tobi due to the lower psi; however, that was 14 years ago, so maybe things have changed.