Access Vascular this week announced positive results from a study of its HydroPICC catheter.
Billerica, Massachusetts-based Access Vascular designed the device to help reduce the most common and costly complications that are associated with vascular access procedures, including infection, thrombosis and phlebitis. The HydroPICC is constructed of a hydrophilic biomaterial with Mimix technology.
A peer-reviewed study of the HydroPICC peripherally inserted central catheter (PICC) demonstrated positive results that showcased the benefits of the catheter in reducing clot formation and failures when compared to conventional polyurethane PICCs.
As part of the study, 121 patients received a PICC as part of their medical care. The study demonstrated no occlusions or replacements in the 60 HydroPICC insertions, while 13 catheter occlusions were reported in the 61 polyurethane insertions catheter group and eight outright PICC replacements (13%).
“Reducing clot formation in PICCs helps to reduce delays in treatment, unscheduled catheter replacements, the risk of infection, and overall total cost of medical care,” CEO and Cofounder James Biggins said in a news release. “If we conservatively project out the cost savings on just replacement devices seen in this study, there could easily be an annual savings of $80 million in the U.S. – and, most importantly, greatly improve the standard of care for patients.”
In the U.S., approximately 2.7 million PICCs are placed in patients annually, with approximately 95% made from polyurethane. These polyurethane devices carry occlusion rates ranging from 7.4% to 35%, leading to hundreds of thousands of polyurethane-related PICC occlusions each year, according to Access Vascular.
“This study validates the dramatic reduction in complications I’ve seen since switching to Access Vascular’s devices, and I’m excited to share these results with the greater clinical community,” lead author of the study Joseph Bunch said. “Innovations, such as AVI’s clot-resistant technology, which help patients and clinicians alike by improving the standard of care, should be widely adopted by healthcare practitioners.”
Access Vascular received FDA clearance for HydroPICC in 2018.
