Astute Medical To Exhibit At Society Of Thoracic Surgeons Annual Meeting

SAN DIEGO, Jan. 26, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Astute Medical, Inc., developer of biomarkers for better healthcare, announced today that it will be exhibiting at the Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS) 54^th Annual Meeting at the Broward County Convention Center in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, from Saturday, Jan. 27, through Wednesday, Jan. 31.

"Astute is enthusiastic about its opportunity to participate in this gathering of cardiothoracic surgeons from all over the world, following a year in which many STS members and hospitals have adopted the NephroCheck Test as a new tool to gauge a patient's risk for acute kidney injury (AKI) so that corrective measures can be taken before injury occurs," said Ryan Roberts, Astute Medical's chief commercial officer.

Florida Hospital Waterman in Central Florida, a member of the Adventist-Florida Hospital System, recently adopted use of the NephroCheck Test, joining the University of Florida Health in Northern Florida, Morton Plant Hospital in Clearwater, and other providers in the state that were early adopters.

"The potential utility of the NephroCheck Test for more personalized, multidisciplinary care is growing," said Louis Guzzi, M.D., an intensivist at Florida Hospital Waterman.  "The utility extends to many types of critically ill patients, including those who have major surgery, suspected sepsis, and cardiac or pulmonary issues that can create challenges in multiple organs including the kidneys," Dr. Guzzi said.

Peer-reviewed publications continue to demonstrate the tremendous health and cost impacts of AKI.^[1],[2],[3] In a study of cardiac surgery patients, mortality was 500 percent higher among those who developed AKI during hospitalization.² "Kidney failure is an important element of STS quality metrics, as well as CMS quality and payment incentives," Roberts said.

Early identification of patients at risk of AKI can improve cardiac surgery patient outcomes and reduce costs. Results from a 13-month study^[4] at Lee Health's Health Park Medical Center in Fort Meyers, Florida, presented at an STS meeting in October 2017, showed that use of the NephroCheck Test to determine AKI risk on 1,116 patients after open heart surgery reduced both the incidence of AKI and the delays in patient care that occur as a result of the complication.

"With this test, we now can identify stress on the kidneys and intervene earlier and more effectively," said Paul DiGiorgi, M.D., an author of the study, which was the largest on cardiac surgery patients. "It is the intelligent application of the test results and care coordination that ultimately makes the difference in practice," DiGiorgi said.

Significant improvements in outcomes were also reported in a study published in January 2017, in the journal Intensive Care Medicine, in which the NephroCheck Test was used to identify patients at high risk for AKI after open-heart surgery. At-risk patients were treated under KDIGO (Kidney Disease: Improving Global Outcomes) guidelines, resulting in a more than 33 percent reduction in the occurrence of moderate to severe AKI.

The NephroCheck Test quantitatively measures two urinary biomarkers, tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase 2 (TIMP-2) and insulin-like growth factor binding protein 7 (IGFBP-7), which have been related to early kidney stress, thus signaling elevated risk for imminent AKI. In high-risk hospital patients, this stress can signal the threat of moderate to severe AKI if left unmitigated. 

Astute Medical can be found in booth #730 from Sunday, Jan. 28, to Tuesday, Jan. 30.

About Astute Medical, Inc.
Astute Medical is dedicated to improving outcomes for patients with high-risk medical conditions and diseases through the identification and validation of protein biomarkers that can serve as the basis for novel diagnostic tests.

The Company's focus is community- and hospital-acquired acute conditions that require rapid diagnosis and risk assessment. Astute Medical's current areas of interest include abdominal pain, acute coronary syndromes, cerebrovascular injury, kidney injury and sepsis.

Astute Medical is a founding corporate partner of 0by25, a human rights initiative aimed at eliminating preventable and treatable deaths from AKI worldwide by 2025.

For additional information, please visit AstuteMedical.com.

The NephroCheck Test Intended Use (United States)
The NephroCheck Test System is intended to be used in conjunction with clinical evaluation in patients who currently have or have had within the past 24 hours acute cardiovascular and or respiratory compromise and are intensive care unit (ICU) patients as an aid in the risk assessment for moderate or severe AKI within 12 hours of patient assessment. The NephroCheck Test System is intended to be used in patients 21 years of age or older.

For more information on the NephroCheck Test visit NephroCheck.com.

Astute Medical^®, the AM logo, Astute140^®, NephroCheck^®, the NephroCheck^® logo, and AKIRisk^® are registered trademarks of Astute Medical, Inc. in the United States. For information regarding trademarks and other intellectual property applicable to this product, including international trademarks, please see astutemedical.com/US/About/IntellectualProperty/. PN0658 2018/01/25

^[1] Silver SA, Chertow GM. The Economic consequences of AKI. Nephron. 2017;137:297-301.

^[2] Dasta JF, Kane-Fill SL, Durtschi, AJ, Pathak DS, Kellum JA. Costs and outcomes of acute kidney injury (AKI) following cardiac surgery. Nephrol Dial Transplant. 2008;23:1970-1974.

^[3] Hobson C, Ozrazgat-Baslanti T, Kuxhausen A, et al. Cost and mortality associated with postoperative acute kidney injury. Ann Surg. 2014;00:1-8.

^[4] Lee Health Press Release. "Shipley Cardiothoracic Center Study Findings Featured At National Conference." Published online October 12, 2017. http://www.leehealth.org/publicaffairs/press-releasesoct17/shipley-urine-test.htm

SOURCE Astute Medical, Inc.

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