October 19, 2009 – PLC Systems Inc. today said its RenalGuard System will be utilized as part of a live case transmission from the Clinica Mediterranea, Naples, Italy, to the 30th Congresso Nazionale della Societa' Italiana di Cardiologia Invasiva (GISE), Oct. 20-23, in Bologna, Italy.
Dr. Carlo Briguori, chief of the laboratory of interventional cardiology, Clinica Mediterranea, a noted expert on CIN, is currently conducting an investigator-sponsored multicenter randomized clinical trial on the efficacy of RenalGuard at his hospital. He plans to make a presentation on the status of his study at GISE, and will include a video demonstrating the use of RenalGuard during his talk.
This live case transmission marks the second time RenalGuard has been utilized as part of a live case transmission during a cardiac procedure during a cardiology conference. In May 2009, RenalGuard was included as part of a live case transmission from Hospital Clinico San Carlos, Madrid, Spain, during the meeting of EuroPCR. The interventional cardiologists involved in that case demonstrated how RenalGuard is used to help prevent contrast-induced nephropathy (CIN) in a patient with impaired renal function undergoing a percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI).
Preliminary data from the first investigator-sponsored randomized clinical trial of RenalGuard, known as MYTHOS, has been presented at two international cardiology conferences, and indicates that patients at high risk for renal failure, when treated with RenalGuard while undergoing certain imaging procedures, acquired CIN at a significantly lower rate than those who were treated with overnight hydration. Acquiring CIN has been found to lead to a range of serious and potentially deadly outcomes in patients who already have compromised kidney function.
The investigators for this trial are Dr. Antonio L. Bartorelli, director, interventional cardiology, CCM, and professor of cardiology, University of Milan, and Dr. Giancarlo Marenzi, chief, intensive cardiac care unit at CCM, two of the world's leading experts on CIN.
For more information: www.plcmed.com