Dräger Medical Inc. believes safety is paramount in anesthesia delivery. Extensive and redundant safety measures are built into all of Dräger Medical’s anesthesia delivery devices.

In response to the letter from Dr. Kee et al. , Dräger Medical submits the following information. The Narkomed 2C anesthesia machine (Dräger Medical, Telford, PA) was manufactured from 1993 through 1999. This machine was manufactured with an exclusion system that, when used in conjunction with Dräger 19.1 vaporizers, Dräger 2000 vaporizers, and Datex-Ohmeda Tec 6 Plus vaporizers (Madison, WI), is designed to prevent the use of more than one anesthetic agent at a time.

The exclusion system in the Narkomed 2C incorporates a cam and lever interlock system into the vaporizer bank to prevent accidental activation of more than one vaporizer. As a result of normal use, this system may require periodic adjustment to maintain system integrity. Therefore, Dräger Medical provides specific daily and preuse equipment checkouts. The Narkomed 2C operator’s manual provides a recommended daily checkout for operators. The “Vaporizer verification” section includes checking the vaporizer exclusion device to ensure that only one vaporizer can be turned on at a time. In addition, the Dräger-Vapor 19.1 Instructions for Use contain a “Checks before starting anesthesia” section, which states that it should only be possible to operate one vaporizer at a time. Both checks indicate that if the exclusion test is not successful, the anesthesia machine should not be used until the aforesaid adjustments are made.

Dräger Medical, Telford, Pennsylvania. rob.clark@draegermed.com