(NYSE MKT LLC: DXR)
New York, NY, March 14, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Daxor Corporation (NYSE MKT: DXR), an investment company with medical instrumentation and biotechnology operations, announces the presentation of new research highlighting the significant benefits to patient outcomes through individualization of care guided by blood volume analysis (BVA). The study by John E. Strobeck, MD, PhD and Wayne L. Miller, MD, PhD, of the Mayo Clinic appeared during the session entitled “Cardiotoxity, Cardiomyophathies and Heart Failure Readmissions” at the American College of Cardiology 2018 Scientific Session (1105-104).
Michael Feldschuh, CEO of Daxor said, “This pioneering study confirms that Daxor’s rapid non-invasive diagnostic can be essential to improving outcomes and the related economic costs of hospitalized heart failure. Heart failure is one of the greatest challenges our healthcare system faces – it affects over six million Americans and is responsible for one in nine deaths. Mortality rates for heart failure have been rising and the costs to our system already exceed 30 billion dollars per year. We expect the urgent need for an effective solution will to lead to increased interest in our technology and further confirmatory studies.”
Dr. Strobeck reported the results of a propensity score matched-controlled retrospective analysis of mortality and readmission outcomes in a mixed community cohort of 245 consecutive heart failure patient admissions over the course of four years for whom at least one year of follow-up or mortality data were available. Patients received at least one BVA test at or near admission with follow-up as needed. BVA results were integrated into each patient’s decongestion strategy. Outcomes for each member of this cohort were statistically compared to the 30-day mortality and readmissions and 365-day mortality rates of ten controls derived from CMS data and matched for demographics, comorbidities, and time of treatment.
For this real-world mixed cohort of 245 heart failure patients receiving individualized care guided by BVA, the 30-day all-cause mortality rate was 2.0%, significantly lower than the rate for the matched control population of 11.1% (P<0.001), implying a 56% relative reduction in the risk of 30-day readmissions compared with conventionally managed patients. Since 2013, Medicare has been financially penalizing hospitals with above-average 30-day readmission rates for heart failure patients. This result has important implications not only for improving the treatment of heart failure but also for reducing hospital financial penalties.
Dr. Strobeck previously stated, “Directly measuring intravascular blood volume makes it possible to individualize the decongestion strategy according to the confirmed and quantified need of each patient. Based on the outcomes observed in this cohort, this may represent an important difference from the conventional approach. Effectively identifying and managing the anemia also seems to meaningfully impact outcomes.”
Volume overload is the hallmark of heart failure, and the accurate measurement and management of congestion is a core concern for physicians in this setting. Clinical signs and symptoms alone are well understood to be inadequately sensitive and specific in the evaluation of volume status. Indirect metrics such as hemodynamic pressures have demonstrated poor correlation with measured total blood volume. Only BVA enables clinicians to measure a patient’s blood volume directly and with 98% accuracy. Additionally, BVA is the only metric for quantifying RBC volume status to deliver consistent accuracy regardless of plasma expansion or depletion.