Ethicon has announced results of a large, retrospective study that showed the use of the Surgicel family of topical absorbable haemostats was associated with lower costs, reduced product usage, shortened length of hospital stay, and reduced transfusions compared to the use of other adjunctive haemostats. The study was presented at the Society for the Advancement of Blood Management annual meeting in Houston, Texas, USA.
The study results suggest that hospitals may improve patient outcomes and limit the overall cost of treatment by making the appropriate selection of haemostatic agents to minimise blood loss and potentially prevent complications from re-bleeding during surgery.
Hard-to-control, poorly controlled and uncontrolled bleeding in the surgical setting can have severe consequences, such as transfusions, increased length of stay and up to a 93% increase in costs. Adjunctive haemostats are typically utilised to reduce or prevent surgical bleeding, and over time, the use of haemostatic agents has increased for all surgical procedures.
“During the last 50 years, the Surgicel family of haemostats has consistently proven to be safe and effective with superb absorbability and in vitro bactericidal properties,” says Jerome Riebman, director, Medical Affairs at Ethicon. “This study adds to the growing body of evidence that suggests the Surgicel family of topical absorbable haemostats has the potential to reduce burdens associated with bleeding and bleeding-related complications, which translate into cost and resource use savings for health care providers.”
In June, a different study presented at the International Society on Thrombosis and Haemostasis showed that the use of advanced Surgicel products (Sugicel Fibrillar and Surgicel Snow) was associated with lower costs, reduced product usage, reduced length of hospital stay and reduced units of blood transfusions compared to Surgicel Original. These data provide further evidence of the efficacy of the Surgicel Family of Products, as well as its potential to positively impact patient outcomes and hospital resource use and cost.
Used in more than 100 million procedures, Surgicel Original is considered to be the gold-standard comparator in topical absorbable haemostat clinical trials. Designed to meet evolving surgical needs, the Surgicel Fibrillar and Surgicel Snow brands enable surgeons to do more in the operating room while saving more.
The Surgicel family of haemostats are the first and only absorbable haemostats in the United States with proven bactericidal properties against more strains of bacteria than any other cellulose-based topical adjunctive haemostat, including various antibiotic-resistant bacteria (MRSA, VRE, PRSP and MRSE). Only Surgicel absorbable haemostats demonstrate consistent bactericidal activity in vitro against the top five pathogens commonly reported to cause surgical site infections.
