>>SUNNYVALE, Calif., Oct. 8 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Scios Inc. (Nasdaq: SCIO - News) today announced that four abstracts related to Natrecor® (nesiritide) were presented at the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP) Scientific Assembly 2002 in Seattle, the world's largest and most comprehensive emergency medicine educational conference.
"Since most patients with acutely decompensated heart failure present to the Emergency Department, it is important that ACEP physicians from around the country have the opportunity to advance their understanding of Natrecor as an early treatment strategy in the Emergency Department," said Darlene P. Horton, M.D., Vice President of Medical Affairs at Scios.
One of the presentation highlights was titled, "Effect of Emergency Department Initiation of Vasoactive Infusion Therapy on Heart Failure Length of Stay," presented by Charles L. Emerman M.D., and W. Franklin Peacock IV, M.D., both of the Department of Emergency Medicine, The Cleveland Clinic Foundation. The abstract concluded, "initiation of IV vasoactive infusion therapy in the Emergency Department (ED) rather than on the inpatient unit is associated with a markedly shorter hospital length of stay (LOS) in patients presenting with acutely decompensated heart failure." The analysis was based on data from the ADHERE registry, a national multicenter registry that enrolls acutely decompensated heart failure patients.
Treatment was categorized as those receiving only first-line, intermittent ED heart failure therapy such as diuretics, morphine and other bolus IV agents, versus those receiving IV vasoactive infusion therapies such as IV vasodilators, Natrecor (nesiritide) or inotropes initiated in the ED. A key finding of the study was that the length of stay for patients who received IV vasoactive infusion therapy in the ED was 6.4 days vs. 9.5 days for those who started this therapy after admission (P<0.001).
"It is critical that emergency physicians recognize the need for aggressive initial treatment of patients with acutely decompensated heart failure with IV vasoactive infusion therapies like Natrecor in the Emergency Department since these drugs favorably impact clinical outcomes such as hospital length of stay," said Charles L. Emerman, M.D., Department of Emergency Medicine, The Cleveland Clinic Foundation.
Additional studies presented at the ACEP meeting included:
-- Efficacy and Safety of Nesiritide (B-type natriuretic peptide) vs.
Intravenous Nitroglycerin in Patients with Renal Insufficiency, Charles
L. Emerman, M.D. et al, Department of Emergency Medicine, The Cleveland
Clinic Foundation.
-- Safety of Nesiritide During Infusion for Decompensated Heart Failure,
W. Franklin Peacock IV, M.D. et al, Department of Emergency Medicine,
The Cleveland Clinic Foundation.
-- A Pilot Study of the Safety and Efficacy of Nesiritide in the
Management of Acute Decompensated Congestive Heart Failure Complicated
by an Acute Coronary Syndrome, W. Franklin Peacock IV, M.D. et al,
Department of Emergency Medicine, The Cleveland Clinic Foundation.<<
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SCIO will be announcing earnings on the 24th. It is off more than most today, and I find it tempting under $25.
Cheers, Tuck |
