January 12, 2012 - Saudi Arabia Uses ZOLL's Temperature Management Solution to Revive Pilgrims from Heat Stroke during the Hajj Pilgrimage
|
INVESTOR CONTACT: |
A. Ernest Whiton |
|
MEDIA CONTACT: |
Diane Egan |
SAUDI ARABIA USES ZOLL'S TEMPERATURE MANAGEMENT SOLUTION TO REVIVE PILGRIMS FROM HEAT STROKE DURING THE HAJJ PILGRIMAGE
January 12, 2012─CHELMSFORD, MASS.–ZOLL® Medical Corporation (Nasdaq GS: ZOLL), a manufacturer of medical devices and related software solutions, announced today that the Saudi Arabia Ministry of Health purchased six ZOLL intravascular temperature management (IVTM™) systems to treat pilgrims suffering from heat stroke during the annual Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca last November.
The severe desert heat, associated sun-related hazards, and crowding present during the Hajj trigger emergency situations such as heat stroke, which can be fatal if not properly and promptly treated. Daytime temperatures can reach far over 30ºC (86ºF) in Saudi Arabia during the Hajj months of October and November. In 2010, these conditions caused 140 pilgrims to die from heat stroke during the world’s largest annual gathering.
While cooler temperatures prevailed during this year’s pilgrimage, which attracted upwards of 2.5 million Muslims, 10 cases of heat stroke were reported, two of which were treated with ZOLL’s IVTM with excellent results. The others, not as serious cases, were treated with standard medications.
According to Abdulrahman Alduailij, CEO of Hospital Automation Technology, ZOLL’s distributor for temperature management equipment in Saudi Arabia, this was the first time therapeutic temperature management was instituted for heat stroke patients in the Hajj. A clinical trial that showed ZOLL’s temperature management system can reduce the fever burden by 64% over surface cooling1 was influential in the purchase decision.
“ZOLL’s intravascular approach gave our health care providers the power and control they needed to rapidly, safely, and effectively manage the core body temperature. This technology offers superior clinical efficiency when compared with other methods, such as surface cooling pads, in reaching and maintaining target temperature,” said Alduailij. “The efficient and precise control provided by ZOLL’s IVTM reduced the workload on clinical staff because it didn’t require constant monitoring.”
“We’re extremely pleased to see that the Saudi Arabian government acknowledges the benefits this life-saving technology can have on improving outcomes,” said Richard A. Packer, Chief Executive Officer of ZOLL. “The process of cooling the body can limit potential damage to the brain, tissue, and other organs, resulting in lives saved that might otherwise be lost.”
About ZOLL IVTM
ZOLL IVTM provides cooling and warming from a catheter inserted into a patient’s vein. This provides better control of the core body temperature by directly cooling or warming the patient’s blood as it flows through the body. This catheter is connected to the Thermogard XP® console, which when used to induce hypothermia, circulates ice-cold saline solution inside a balloon catheter. After a period of therapeutic hypothermia, typically 12-24 hours, the system slowly and accurately rewarms the patient back to normal body temperature. Since the saline flows only within the catheter, no fluid is infused into the patient. The ZOLL IVTM system is efficient, precise and easy to use, and frees up clinical staff to attend to other patient needs.
ZOLL IVTM offers a variety of catheters with placement options to handle specific patient challenges. Options for catheter placement include femoral, subclavian, and internal jugular.
About Heat Stroke
A heat stroke is a life threatening condition resulting from long and extreme exposure to heat, in which a person can't sweat enough to lower body temperature. When the weather is hot, the body works overtime trying to stay cool. Excess heat escapes through sweating, exhalation of warmed air, and increased blood flow to the skin. Hot weather can overwhelm these mechanisms, which can lead to the failure of body's heat regulating system, causing rapidly increased body temperature and dehydration.
About ZOLL Medical Corporation
ZOLL Medical Corporation develops and markets medical devices and software solutions that help advance emergency care and save lives, while increasing clinical and operational efficiencies. With products for defibrillation and monitoring, circulation and CPR feedback, data management, fluid resuscitation, and therapeutic temperature management, ZOLL provides a comprehensive set of technologies that help clinicians, EMS and fire professionals, and lay rescuers treat victims needing resuscitation and critical care.
A NASDAQ Global Select company and a Forbes 100 Most Trustworthy Company in 2007, 2008, and 2009, ZOLL was designated in 2011 as one of Forbes Top 100 Small Public Companies in America with annual revenues under $1 billion. ZOLL develops and manufactures its products in the United States, in California, Colorado, Illinois, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Rhode Island. More than 400 direct sales and service representatives, 1,100 business partners, and 200 independent representatives serve our customers in over 140 countries around the globe. For more information, visit www.zoll.com.
Certain statements contained in this press release, including statements regarding the anticipated development of the Company's business, and other statements contained herein regarding matters that are not historical facts, are “forward-looking” statements (as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995). Because such statements are subject to risks and uncertainties, actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, those factors discussed in the section entitled “Risk Factors” in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC on November 23, 2011, and any subsequent filings. You should not place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements in this press release, and the Company disavows any obligation to update or supplement those statements in the event of any changes in the facts, circumstances, or expectations that underlie those statements.
Copyright © 2012 ZOLL Medical Corporation. All rights reserved. IVTM, Thermoguard XP, and ZOLL are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of ZOLL Medical Corporation in the United States and/or other countries. All trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
1Critical Care Medicine Vol. 32, No. 2, Deringer, Michael N., Treatment of fever in the neurologic intensive care unit of a catheter-based heat exchange system. 2004; 559-564