CardioQ update

Deltex Medical Group PLC 14 April 2008 Deltex Medical Group plc Largest audit of the CardioQ(TM) in 'fast-track' bowel surgery set to expand 14 April 2008 - Deltex Medical Group plc ('Deltex Medical'), the UK's leading haemodynamic monitoring company, today announces that doctors in Spain undertaking the largest ever audit of the impact of the Company's CardioQ oesophageal Doppler monitor (ODM) are expanding the number of hospitals involved in the project. Dr Jose Manuel Ramirez, one of Spain's most senior surgeons and a specialist in bowel surgery at the University Hospital in Zaragoza, is leading the audit which will examine changes in the numbers of complications and lengths of stay in patients undergoing major bowel surgery using the CardioQ in a 'fast-track' surgery setting compared to historical data for patients undergoing similar surgery using traditional approaches to care. 'Fast-track' or 'enhanced recovery' protocols combine elements of best practice in surgical techniques and patient care to keep patients as well as possible immediately before, during and after their surgery. Originally planned to be conducted across seven hospitals in Spain, interest in this independent project, organised and supervised by the University of Zaragoza has been such that Dr Ramirez felt it appropriate to expand this to include a further four hospitals, although many more expressed strong interest in being involved. Deltex Medical has been working closely with Dr Ramirez and his colleagues and training at the first group of hospitals is now complete. The new sites will be trained over the coming weeks. Data collection will begin on 1 May 2008 and is expected to conclude at the end of October, in time for presentation of the results at the Spanish National Congress of Surgery in Madrid in November 2008. Dr Ramirez commented: 'Surgeons have added strategies during surgery designed to enhance patients' recovery still further. They use minimally invasive surgical techniques and epidural anaesthesia wherever possible and precise cardiac and fluid monitoring during operations through an oesophageal Doppler probe used with CardioQ, which monitors blood flow from the heart. In elective complex surgical procedures these approaches have been shown in trials to lead to a lower rate of postoperative complications and shorten time to recovery and hospital stay, our objective is to promote and press forward with these programmes in the field of general and digestive surgery' The Spanish Agencia Lain Entralgo para la Formacion, Investigacion y Estudios Sanitarios de la Comunidad de Madrid, Spain's equivalent to the UK's National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE), is closely involved in the audit project and its remit includes making recommendations on a national basis about which new technologies should become integrated as routine practice in the Spanish health service. Mr. Juan Antonio Blasco Amaro, who is responsible for medical device evaluation at the Agencia Lain Entralgo para la Formacion, Investigacion y Estudios Sanitarios de la Comunidad de Madrid commented: 'The outcome of this study could make the CardioQ a specification and preferable device of use included in the social security health program' Deltex Medical's Chief Executive, Andy Hill commented: 'Fast-track and enhanced recovery programmes are gaining ground as the standard of care for patients having bowel and other major surgical procedures. Dr Ramirez's project has the very real potential to accelerate substantially the adoption of this approach across more than 200 hospitals in Spain performing this kind of surgery.' For further information, please contact:- Deltex Medical Group plc 01243 774 837 Nigel Keen, Chairman njk@deltexmedical.com Andy Hill, Chief Executive ahill@deltexmedical.com Ewan Phillips, Finance Director eap@deltexmedical.com Gavin Anderson & Company 0207 554 1400 Deborah Walter dwalter@gavinanderson.co.uk Robert Speed rspeed@gavinanderson.co.uk Stuart Macaulay smacaulay@gavinanderson.co.uk Charles Stanley Securities Nominated Advisors 020 7149 6000 Philip Davies philip.davies@csysecurities.com Russell Cook russell.cook@csysecurities.com Notes for Editors Deltex Medical manufactures and markets the CardioQ monitor, which uses disposable ultra-sound probes inserted into the oesophagus to determine the amount of blood being pumped around the body - 'circulating blood volume'. Reduced circulating blood volume is known as hypovolaemia, which leads to insufficient oxygen being delivered to the organs. This causes medical complications including peripheral and major organ failure which can lead to death. Hypovolaemia, which is akin to severe dehydration, affects virtually every patient having surgery because of the combined effects of pre-operative starvation, the impact of the anaesthetic agents and trauma from the surgery itself. Using fluids and drugs, guided by the CardioQ, to optimise the amount of circulating blood significantly reduces post-operative complications allowing patients to make a faster, more complete recovery and return home earlier. The CardioQ incorporates the Company's proprietary software and a small diameter, easy-to-use, minimally invasive, disposable oesophageal probe that is used for transmitting and receiving an ultra-sound signal. By using this technology, the CardioQ provides clinicians with the ability to optimise critically ill patients and those undergoing routine moderate to major surgery through the controlled administration of fluid and drugs. Haemodynamic optimisation has been proven to improve the speed and quality of patient recovery and reduce hospital stay. There are already around 1,500 CardioQs currently in use in hospitals worldwide and distribution arrangements are in place in over 30 countries. In addition, there are currently more than 90 clinical publications on the use of the CardioQ which have repeatedly:- •Validated the results of the Monitor against known standards for measuring cardiac output, demonstrating that the technology works •Proved that the CardioQ works in a wide range of surgical procedures •Demonstrated that the Company's technology provides significant health and economic benefits by helping to reduce post-operative complications and length of hospital stays by an average of 30 to 40 per cent for a wide range of patients. The SupraQ is an entirely non-invasive device which uses an ultrasound probe held at the base of the patient's neck to track the flow of blood in the aorta; it presents the same data as the CardioQ in a similar format and is used for taking snapshots or monitoring over short periods. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
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