A patient was undergoing elective cardiac surgery at the Sussex Cardiac Centre which required cardiopulmonary (heart lung) bypass.
The surgery and bypass proceeded uneventfully until towardsthe end of the operation, when as it came time to stop bypass, an equipmentmalfunction meant that the patient’s blood flow failed to re-establish.
A team of perfusionists worked to identify the cause, and blood flow was reestablished after 11 minutes, and the procedure was completed.
The patient later died following confirmed hypoxic-ischaemic brain injury.
Summary of findings and learning
There is no specificnational or local standard operating procedure/protocol for the action to takein the event of forward flow failure
The patient passed away and the case was referred to the Coroner which was concluded in 2024.
Stockert S5 ERC.
Summary of findings and learning
Recommendations
Complaint Number: 2023-01678 Hospital:
Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust
Brighton Event Occurred Summary On 21 March 2023,
LivaNova received a report of an incident involving a LivaNova medical device at Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust. The reporting hospital stated that on the same day multiple alarms occurred on HLM S5 perfusion system during a procedure and blood circulation was stopped for approximately 14 minutes. The patient passed away 10 days later.
Brighton and Sussex hospital perfusion circuit The Hospital used a CP5 centrifugal pump and LivaNova understands that the setup included the flowmeter between the CP5 centrifugal pump and the oxygenator with the bubble sensor located in the arterial line before the ERC clamp.
Technical Service Assistance Following notification of the incident, a LivaNova field service engineer was dispatched to the hospital. The CP5 and the ERC were inspected without finding any deviations. As a precaution, the ERC clamp and CP5 panel were replaced and removed for further investigation by LivaNova. In addition, the pump drive, flow module and sensor were also retained by LivaNova. LivaNova's complaints database indicates that since its installation in 2011, no other issues have been submitted for the ERC clamp (SN:60S16179).
Two different log files were recovered and analysed: - CP5 log file: this log stores only technical error messages related to the CP5 centrifugal pump system and the ERC if connected. - Connect Serdat file: this log records all clinical events (e.g. flow values, bubble, pressure, level alarms, clamp status) Connect receives from its interface.
In summary, the log files indicate that the ERC clamp functioned as expected until 11:41:28 when, after the level alarm cleared, the clamp didn’t open automatically as expected. The ERC timeout was registered in the CP5 Log file and the ERC would no longer have been operable using the electronic control panel and would have required manual intervention in accordance with the IFU.
Inspection of the removed CP5 control panel, pump drive, flow module and sensor did not reveal any functional issue with the returned parts. ERC visual inspection The ERC clamp was opened revealing signs of corrosion. It was surmised that this was likely due to wear and fluid penetration over its lifetime.
Conclusion
Event reported to LivaNova on 21 March 2023 was related to bypass procedure stopped for about 14 minutes, during when no blood flow was possible. During the event of 21 March 2023, multiple alarms were triggered and recorded by the HLM S5 perfusion system, the first was related to an issue opening the ERC clamp. This was properly identified by the HLM S5 perfusion system which displayed the “Arterial clamp is defective” message on the system panel. Due to the multiple alarms, and lack of scrolling in accordance with the IFU, this error was only recognized by the user after a period of delay. Analysis of the available diagnostic real-time data confirms that the ERC became inoperably when in the closed position which may have led to the other alarms being triggered by the system. Analysis of post-market data has not identified any similar event occurring worldwide during more than 5 million performed procedures. The investigation has determined that the root cause of the ERC becoming inoperable was reduced performance of lubricant in the ERC Clamp motor related to wearing as consequence of age and apparent liquid penetration.
The Safety Committee commend the openness and transparency that was shown by Brighton and Sussex hospital. They demonstrated an open and just culture to ensure that essential learning and improvements in safety can be made within the perfusion profession. As a profession it is essentil that we learn from these incidents and share the knowledge to improve practice. Of note there has been no safety reports listed to the safety committee outlining ERC failure, although it is unlikely that this has not occured.