SAN DIEGO--()--Accumetrics, Inc., developer of the market-leading VerifyNow® System, the first rapid and easy-to-use point-of-care system for measuring platelet reactivity to antiplatelet agents, today announced the release of the 2012 Update to the Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS) Guideline on Use of Antiplatelet Drugs in Patients Having Cardiac and Noncardiac Operations. Published online in the Annals of Thoracic Surgery, the updated guidelines reflect increased emphasis on using platelet reactivity testing to better manage patients’ response to antiplatelet medications. This update includes a Class IIa recommendation for patients who require urgent surgery and are on antiplatelet medications. Antiplatelet therapies, such as clopidogrel, prasugrel and ticagrelor, are among some of the most widely prescribed medications in the world.
Four new recommendations provide guidance on the use of platelet reactivity testing to determine the risk of bleeding, the timing of surgery, as well as to assist in post-surgical patient treatment decisions. The highest recommendation for the use of platelet reactivity testing states, “For patients on dual antiplatelet therapy, it is reasonable to make decisions about surgical delay based on tests of platelet inhibition rather than arbitrary use of a specified period of surgical delay.” The Guidelines add that using platelet reactivity testing to assess when the antiplatelet agents are no longer having an antiplatelet effect can reduce the risk of drug-induced perioperative bleeding. The potential length of stay reduction and blood product conservation may have significant economic benefits to hospitals.
"Managing surgical patients on antiplatelet therapy has been an area of great concern for many surgeons. Balancing the risk of bleeding with the thrombotic risk of discontinuing these critical medications creates uncertainty regarding when we should take these patients to surgery," said Dr. Pierre R. Tibi, Medical Director of Cardiothoracic Surgery at the James Family Heart Center in Prescott, AZ. "Consistent with the new guidelines, we have been using platelet reactivity testing for all of our surgical patients on antiplatelet agents. This has removed much of the uncertainty around timing of surgery, and has also resulted in significant cost savings from reducing our presurgical length of stay as well as blood product utilization in these cases."
Following surgery, the Guidelines recommend that testing of response to antiplatelet drugs “with point-of-care platelet function testing, early after cardiac procedures might be considered to optimize antiplatelet drug effect.” In patients with high platelet reactivity who are not receiving the pharmacodynamic effect of the chosen antiplatelet treatment strategy, alternative treatment strategies may be considered.
"The well established role of platelet reactivity testing in higher risk PCI patients has positioned Accumetrics as the leader in platelet reactivity testing," said Timothy I. Still, President and CEO of Accumetrics. "The new surgical guidelines further solidify the role of testing in a broader patient population. With a substantial customer base in surgical and interventional cardiology specialties, the VerifyNow System, VerifyNow PRUTest™, VerifyNow P2Y12 Test and VerifyNow Aspirin Test are an ideal fit for rapidly and accurately assessing the effect of antiplatelet drugs, and providing valuable information to aid in the management of patients on these life-saving medications."
The VerifyNow System is currently used clinically by physicians in over 800 facilities in the United States and over 70 countries worldwide where antiplatelet medications are prescribed to reduce the occurrence of future thrombotic events such as heart attack and stroke.
About Accumetrics
Accumetrics is committed to advancing medical understanding of platelet function and enhancing quality of care for patients receiving antiplatelet therapies by providing industry-leading and widely accessible diagnostic tests for rapid platelet function assessment.
Accumetrics’ VerifyNow System is the first rapid and easy-to-use platform to help physicians determine an individual’s response to multiple antiplatelet agents. Addressing every major antiplatelet drug, including FDA-cleared products for aspirin, P2Y12 inhibitors (e.g. clopidogrel) and GP IIb/IIIa inhibitors, the VerifyNow System provides valuable information to help physicians make informed clinical decisions. The VerifyNow P2Y12 Test and the VerifyNow PRUTest are whole blood assays used in the laboratory or point of care setting to measure the level of platelet P2Y12 receptor blockade. Additionally, the VerifyNow P2Y12 Test is indicated outside the US for evaluating the risk for recurrent events in cardiovascular patients.
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