ICU Medical's Tego Needlefree Connector Proves More Cost Effective Than Traditional Central Venous Catheter Locks

^{Published on 2011-12-13 09:15:51 - Market Wire}
 

Breaking Study: ICU Medical's Tego? Needlefree Connector Proves More Cost Effective... -- SAN CLEMENTE, Calif., Dec. 13, 2011 /PRNewswire/ --

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Study Presented at the American Society of Nephrology's (ASN) Kidney Week 2011 in Philadelphia shows ICU Medical's Tego Connector reduces costs over a 3-month period.

SAN CLEMENTE, Calif., Dec. 13, 2011 /PRNewswire/ --  ICU Medical, Inc. (NASDAQ: [ ICUI ]) announced that a clinical study presented at the American Society of Nephrology's (ASN) Kidney Week 2011 showed the Tego^® needlefree hemodialysis connector can decrease heparin use and reduce costs for dialysis clinics. As the world's first and only needlefree connector FDA-cleared for use in hemodialysis applications, the Tego connector provides a cost effective alternative to traditional connectors without affecting blood flow rate or the rate of positive blood cultures.

For the study titled Tego^® Connectors Reduce Heparin Use without Affecting Blood Flow Rate Compared to Traditional Central Venous Catheter Locks, researchers from DaVita Clinical Researchä (DCR), a provider of clinical research services focused on kidney research as well as a multitude of specialty therapeutic populations, analyzed clinical data from more than 2,500 patients, comparing conversion from traditional central venous catheter (CVC) locks to Tego connectors. Researchers examined data gathered 90 days before and 90 days immediately following the Tego conversion, evaluating blood flow rate, heparin use, and blood culture results. From this data, a cost analysis was conducted, comparing the cost of heparin, connectors, syringes, activase, sodium citrate, and equipment for both CVC locks and Tego connectors to the cost of recombinant tissue plasminogen activator (rt-PA).

Researchers showed that total heparin use decreased by nearly 2000 units three months after the Tego conversion, reducing costs by an average of $16.38 per CVC compared to traditional CVC locks, and "significantly" reducing costs when compared to rt-PA. This study provides evidence to support the Tego's ability to reduce costs associated with long-term CVC without the use of heparin CVC locks. The researchers concluded that since blood flow rate and the rate of positive blood cultures were essentially unchanged after conversion that "Tego connectors are a viable and cost-effective alternative to traditional locks."

Media Contact: Tom McCall 
Vice President, Marketing
949-366-4368
[ tmccall@icumed.com ]

About ICU Medical, Inc.: ICU Medical, Inc. develops, manufactures and sells innovative medical devices used in vascular therapy, oncology and critical care applications. ICU Medical's products improve patient outcomes by helping prevent bloodstream infections and protecting healthcare workers from exposure to infectious diseases or hazardous drugs. The company's complete product line includes custom I.V. systems, closed delivery systems for hazardous drugs, needlefree I.V. connectors, catheters and cardiac monitoring systems. ICU Medical is headquartered in San Clemente, California.

SOURCE ICU Medical, Inc.

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