December 13, 2012 - Temperature Management Solution Successfully Revives 17 Pilgrims from Heat Stroke During the Hajj Pilgrimage in Mecca
|
MEDIA CONTACT: |
Diane Egan |
ZOLL’S TEMPERATURE MANAGEMENT SOLUTION SUCCESSFULLY REVIVES 17 PILGRIMS FROM HEAT STROKE DURING THE HAJJ PILGRIMAGE IN MECCA
December 13, 2012—CHELMSFORD, MASS.—ZOLL® Medical Corporation, a manufacturer of medical devices and related software solutions, announced today that 17 pilgrims suffering heat stroke during the annual Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca were successfully treated using ZOLL’s intravascular temperature management (IVTM™) solution. The patients, both male and female, ranged in age from 44 to the oldest at 76.
Heat stroke can be fatal if not properly and promptly treated. The severe desert heat, associated sun-related hazards, and crowding present during the Hajj trigger emergency situations such as heat stroke. Daytime temperatures this year hovered around 95ºF (35ºC) at the world’s largest annual gathering in October, which attracted over 3 million Muslims from around the world.
To prepare for these conditions, the Saudi Arabia Ministry of Health purchased five additional IVTM systems after determining last year that ZOLL’s intravascular approach was the “best in class” technology for treating severe heat stroke cases. When cooler temperatures prevailed in 2011, 10 cases of heat stroke were reported, two of which were treated with ZOLL’s IVTM with excellent results. The other, 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, a clinical trial showing that ZOLL’s temperature management system can reduce the fever burden by 64% over surface cooling1 was influential in the Ministry of Health’s initial purchasing decision.
“After witnessing the superior clinical efficiency ZOLL’s intravascular approach provides in reaching and maintaining target temperature when compared to other methods, such as surface cooling, the Saudi government decided to expand use of the technology this year,” said Alduailij. “This technology gives our clinicians the power and control they need to rapidly, safely and effectively manage core body temperature, and reduces their workload since it doesn’t require constant monitoring.”
“The process of cooling the body can limit potential damage to the brain, and other organs, resulting in lives saved that might otherwise be lost,” said Richard A. Packer, Chief Executive Officer of ZOLL. “Use of the technology in this instance validates the power and positive impact of ZOLL’s intravascular approach.”
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 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 ZOLL Medical Corporation
ZOLL Medical Corporation, an Asahi Kasei Group company, 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. For more information, visit www.zoll.com.
About Asahi Kasei
The Asahi Kasei Group is a diversified group of companies led by holding company Asahi Kasei Corp., with operations in the chemicals and fibers, homes and construction materials, electronics, and health care business sectors. Its health care operations include devices and systems for critical care, dialysis, therapeutic apheresis, transfusion, and manufacture of biotherapeutics, as well as pharmaceuticals, diagnostic reagents, and nutritional products. With more than 25,000 employees around the world, the Asahi Kasei Group serves customers in more than 100 countries. For more information, visit www.asahi-kasei.co.jp/asahi/en/.
Copyright © 2012 ZOLL Medical Corporation. All rights reserved. IVTM, Thermogard XP, and ZOLL are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of ZOLL Medical Corporation in the United States and/or other countries. Asahi Kasei is a registered trademark of Asahi Kasei Corporation. All trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
1 Critical 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