Full Press Release Details
NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwire - July 16, 2008) - Daxor Corporation (AMEX: DXR), a medical
instrumentation and biotechnology company, today announced the June, 2008
publication of a clinical study in the Journal of Anesthesia and Analgesia
titled, "Peripheral Blood Hematocrit in Critically Ill Surgical Patients:
An Imprecise Surrogate of True Red Blood Cell Volume." The article reviews
how transfusion errors may be avoided by including a blood volume
measurement in critically ill surgical patients.
In this study involving 40 intensive care unit patients, red blood cell
(RBC) volume was estimated by the conventional laboratory hematocrit
measurement. Patients also underwent a direct blood volume measurement
utilizing Daxor's Blood Volume Analyzer BVA-100. The resulting data from
the BVA-100 demonstrated errors in the hematocrit measurement which
significantly underestimated or overestimated the degree of a patient's RBC
volume. These errors are particularly significant as the current approach
to whether a patient does or does not receive a transfusion is largely
guided by the hematocrit.
Clinicians in this study, conducted by the Division of Surgical Critical
Care, Department of Surgery, University of Hawaii and The Queen's Medical
Center of Honolulu, Hawaii, also included other commonly used variables and
invasive hemodynamic data. Even with the inclusion of this additional data
the patient's true RBC status was not recognized.
Given the shortages and approximate $200 cost of a RBC unit, and the fact
that over $1.5 billion is spent annually on transfusions especially on
complex critically ill surgical patients, management of which patient truly
requires a transfusion is both a resource allocation and a vital clinical
decision. A measured blood volume may well avoid treatment errors by
inaccurate surrogate methods like the hematocrit.
Anesthesiology and Analgesia, a monthly international scientific journal
for anesthesiology and critical care medicine physicians, also featured an
editorial by Dr. Robert Hahn from the Clinical Research Center of
S dert lje, Sweden. Dr. Hahn commented in his editorial that, "Despite all
controversies, the return of blood volume as a clinical parameter in the
ICU would be most welcome." Dr. Hahn also highlighted the BVA-100's
ability to provide capillary leak measurements, which he noted, "....may
occasionally be even more interesting than the blood volume."
Daxor Corporation manufactures and markets the BVA-100, the only
FDA-approved semi-automated Blood Volume Analyzer. The BVA-100 is used in
conjunction with Volumex, Daxor's single use diagnostic kit. For more
information regarding Daxor Corporation's Blood Volume Analyzer BVA-100,
visit Daxor's website www.Daxor.com.
Contact Information: Contact Information:
Chief Operating Officer