Humidification Performance of 48 Passive Airway Humidifiers: Comparison With Manufacturer Data.

The article presents a study to evaluate the humidification performance of a large number of adult heat and moisture exchangers (HMEs). It assesses 48 devices using a bench test apparatus that simulated real-life physiologic ventilation conditions, and performs three hygrometric measurements for each device. The research suggests that several HMEs performed poorly and should not be used as HMEs.