Cook Medical Launches Spectrum Glide To Combat Catheter Related Bloodstream Infections

Main Category: Medical Devices / Diagnostics
Also Included In: MRSA / Drug Resistance;  Infectious Diseases / Bacteria / Viruses;  Blood / Hematology
Article Date: 22 Feb 2008 - 1:00 PDT

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Cook Medical announces the general availability in Europe of Cook Spectrum® Glide™ Minocycline/Rifampin Impregnated Catheters. Spectrum, created by Cook's Critical Care strategic business unit, has been specifically designed to provide the best protection against catheter-related bloodstream infections (CRBSIs), which according to the Department of Health (DoH) cost the NHS upwards of £6,209 per infected patient in 2003 alone.

Catheters are currently either untreated or surface-treated with a combination of compounds which are intended to endow those catheters with some antiseptic qualities. Both technologies have been shown clinically to be less effective than Spectrum antimicrobial catheters, which are impregnated on both sides with a combination of rifampin and minocycline.

Spectrum catheters are impregnated with rifampin and minocycline on the external and internal surfaces to provide protection against catheter-related bloodstream infections, via broad-spectrum activity against gram positive and gram negative organisms. This protection against CRBSIs lasts for at least two weeks and clinical trials in the US have found no occurrence of antibiotic resistance.

Dr Duncan Wyncoll, Consultant Intensivist at Guy's and St Thomas's Hospital in Westminster London, comments: "The NHS as a whole is taking great strides to reduce hospital acquired infections by adopting a variety of measures, including the adoption of innovative technology. The Cook Spectrum catheter is one such example of this technology. The next step is to hone the techniques used to place the catheters in an effective manner. Reducing physician error in catheter placement will drive infection rates down still further."

How Does Spectrum Work?

All catheter tube extensions are labelled with port name, gage size and flush volume. Cook Medical's Spectrum is available as a double or triple lumen catheter. Lumens should be pre-flushed prior to use and the catheters' hydrophilic coating activates upon insertion into the vessel. Spectrum incorporates either two or three separate, non-communicating vascular access lumens within a single catheter body. This design reduces the need for multiple venipunctures or multiple stopcock configurations with single lumen catheters which may increase the likelihood that any individual catheter may become infected. Exit ports of individual lumens are separated by an appropriate distance in proportion to the catheter's French size - Spectrum comes in French sizes 4.0, 5.0 and 7.0.

Bruce Gingles, Global Vice President of Cook Medical's Critical Care strategic business unit, says: "Healthcare-associated infections and catheter-related bloodstream infections receive ever more attention from the media, politicians, patients and physicians. The UK's National Audit Office states that hospital-acquired infections can be reduced by around 15 per cent across the NHS through better management and control. We believe medical technology has a large part to play in this battle.

"We are working with an increasing number of surgeons and healthcare professionals within institutions who are successfully driving down infection rates through a heightened appreciation of the risks involved with incomplete infection control. Efforts to beat CRBSIs must come from a platform of prevention, not just cure. This is precisely why we've designed the Spectrum Glide catheter."

About Cook Medical

Cook Medical was one of the first companies to introduce interventional devices in the United States. Today, the company participates in all global markets, integrating device design, biopharma, gene and cell therapy and biotechnology to enhance patient safety and improve clinical outcomes. Cook won the prestigious Medical Device Manufacturer from Medical Device and Diagnostic Magazine.

Cook Medical

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