Alsius Corporation
(Nasdaq: ALUS), the worldwide leader in intravascular temperature
management (IVTM(TM)) therapies, announced that four scientific
posters featuring both patient cases and laboratory research in which the
Thermogard XP(TM) was utilized will be presented this week at the American
Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) Annual Meeting, taking place in Orlando.
Dr. Arie Blitz, Director of Heart Transplantation and Assist Device
Surgery at University Hospitals of Cleveland Case Medical Center, and
President of the Cleveland chapter of the American Heart Association, will
present the following posters highlighting the use of the Thermogard XP in
challenging cardiac surgery cases:
-- Use of a Novel Percutaneous Warming Catheter as a Protection Against
Perioperative Hypothermia
-- Perioperative Therapeutic Hypothermia for Intraoperative Cardiac
Arrest During Cardiac Surgery
-- Use of a Warming Catheter To Treat Perioperative Hypothermia in a
Patient Undergoing Salvage Off-Pump RVAD Insertion
-- Reversal of Stroke by the Early Institution of Therapeutic
Hypothermia after Cardiac Surgery
"Patients undergoing cardiac surgery are at risk for developing a
variety of perioperative complications, including hypothermia and stroke,"
commented Dr. Blitz, senior author of the case studies to be featured at
ASA. "Precise control of body temperature plays an important role in
treating patients who are at risk for these complications.
"Patients who experience inadvertent hypothermia during surgery are at
increased risk for bleeding and other adverse events, and therefore may
benefit by being kept warm during the course of the operation," continued
Dr. Blitz. "On the other hand, patients who experience a stroke or other
neurological injury during surgery might actually benefit by being cooled
down for a period of time after the surgery. Therefore, modulating
temperature becomes a very important tool in the physician's armamentarium.
The cases being presented at the ASA underscore the utility of temperature
management for these situations."
Various factors contribute to hypothermia during surgery, including the
type of surgical procedure, the type of anesthesia, the temperature of the
operating room and the infusion of blood or other cold fluids. A patient's
temperature can drop as much as 1 - 3 degrees F during the first 30 minutes
after anesthesia is administered, and sometimes more body heat can be lost
during the surgery, which can lead to serious complications including wound
infections, blood loss, cardiac arrhythmias and heart damage.
Most methods of patient re-warming are imprecise, fail to warm the
patient quickly enough or are not practical due to the type of surgery. The
Alsius IVTM system is ideal for these circumstances since it does not
interfere with the operating field and will precisely and efficiently
regulate the patient's temperature.
Alsius IVTM(TM)
Alsius IVTM technology provides cooling and warming therapy via a
computer-controlled temperature regulation system that connects to Alsius'
proprietary heat exchange catheters. The catheters are inserted into a
patient's subclavian, jugular or femoral vein, and circulate cool or warm
saline through balloons that surround the catheter. This approach decreases
or increases core temperature from the inside of the body out toward the
exterior, allowing for significantly more rapid control of a patient's core
body temperature, with greater efficiency and precision, compared to
conventional external temperature management products such as cooling and
warming blankets and ice packs.
Alsius' IVTM products include the CoolGard 3000(R), Thermogard(TM) and
Thermogard XP(TM) systems, as well as a family of single-use catheters,
including the Cool Line(R), Icy(TM), Quattro(TM), Solex(TM) and Fortius(R)
catheters.
About Alsius
Alsius, headquartered in Irvine, CA, is a commercial-stage medical
device company that develops, manufactures and sells proprietary products
to precisely control patient temperature in hospital critical care
settings. Controlling body temperature, through cooling and warming, is
becoming the standard of care for patients in select critical conditions
and those undergoing a variety of surgical procedures. Alsius markets a
comprehensive suite of catheter-based intravascular temperature management
products that address the need for effective, accurate, easy-to-use and
cost-effective control of body temperature in critical care patients. For
more information, visit alsius.
Safe Harbor
This press release may contain statements regarding plans and
expectations for the future that constitute forward-looking statements
within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.
All statements other than statements of historical fact are
forward-looking. Such forward looking statements, based upon the current
beliefs and expectations of Alsius' management, are subject to risks and
uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ materially from
those described in the forward-looking statements. The information set
forth herein should be read in light of such risks. Additional information
concerning such risks and uncertainties are contained in Alsius' filings
with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which can be accessed
electronically on the Securities and Exchange Commission website at
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