Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) yesterday touted data presented at the International Stroke Conference on its Solitaire stent retriever from 4 studies. The Solitaire stent retriever uses a micro-sized catheter to access arteries in the brain, restoring blood flow and removing blood clots that cause acute ischemic stroke.
The Stratis AIS study evaluated the impact of treatment delays and patient outcomes when patients were treated with the Solitaire stent retriever and intravenous tissue plasminogen activator. Of the 984 enrolled patients, 64% were treated with the device and IV-tPA, while 36% were treated with the stent retriever alone.
The results showed that interhospital transfer was associated with significant delays to treatment and lowered chance of functional independence following treatment. The data also demonstrated that those treated with balloon guide catheters had higher rates of functional independence after treatment compared to those treated with distal access catheters.
“The Stratis registry confirms that the outcomes from 4 of the global randomized clinical trials that helped to transform stroke treatment are applicable in different health systems across the U.S. with the same positive results,” Dr. Curtis Given, co-director of Neurointerventional Services at Baptist Health in Lexington, Kentucky, said in prepared remarks. “We are consistently seeing that access to stent retrievers reduces long-term disability in patients. We must continue to work towards a system that makes early treatment with this technology available to all patients.”
The Swift-Prime trial found that treatment with both the Solitaire device and IV-tPA is cost-effective and has substantial long-term cost savings and gains in life-expectancy compared to IV-tPA alone. Although initial costs were higher for the combination therapy, costs at 90 days following treatment were $4,904 lower for patients treated with the stent retriever compared to those treated with IV-tPA.
The researchers concluded that the cost difference was due to reductions in rehospitalization, rehabilitation-related and long-term nursing home costs. Treatment with the Solitaire device was associated with cost savings of $23,203 per patient over the course of their lifetime, according to Medtronic.
“The cost-effectiveness data shows that despite higher initial treatment costs, in the long run, patients who receive stent retriever therapy with the Solitaire stent retriever spend less time in the hospital, less time in rehabilitation, and less time in nursing home care after an acute ischemic stroke. Patients have faster and complete recoveries, and the healthcare system saves money overall,” Dr. Jeffrey Saver, director of the UCLA Comprehensive Stroke Center, said.
“Medtronic continues to provide ground-breaking data that shows the impact and now, long-term cost savings of our Solitaire stent retriever, the most studied of this class of devices,” Medtronic’s neurovascular VP and GM Stacey Pugh added. “As the pioneer of stent retriever technology, we are committed to working with hospitals, providers and organizations such as the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association to continue to bring the most effective stroke treatments to the patients who need it most.”
