Access Vascular Reveals New Bacterial Adhesion Data at INS 2024

Access Vascular, Inc. (AVI), a company focused on addressing common and costly complications in vascular access through advanced biomaterial technologies, recently unveiled promising new data at the Infusion Nurses Society's annual scientific meeting in Kansas City, Missouri. The findings highlight a significant reduction in bacterial adhesion and thrombus accumulation in peripherally inserted central catheters (PICCs) and midline catheters made with AVI's MIMIX® hydrophilic biomaterial (HBM) compared to standard catheter materials.

The research compared bacterial adhesion on two conventional polyurethane-based catheters with those made from AVI’s HBM. The results were striking, showing a 99.999 percent reduction in bacterial adhesion for the HBM catheters compared to both a standard polyurethane catheter and one coated with Chlorhexidine gluconate (CHG).

"This data adds to our growing collection of evidence showing that MIMIX® catheters significantly lower the rates of common and costly complications associated with vascular access devices," stated James Biggins, founder and CEO of Access Vascular. "Our HBM-based catheters have shown a substantial reduction in bacterial adhesion compared to all other major catheter materials available today, which could be pivotal in combating catheter-associated bloodstream infections."

In addition to bacterial adhesion, the study also examined thrombus accumulation. Findings indicated that HBM catheters experienced a 97 percent reduction in thrombus accumulation compared to CHG-coated polyurethane catheters and a 98 percent reduction compared to standard polyurethane catheters. These results are consistent with earlier studies demonstrating the thromboresistant properties of HBM-based catheters.

Lee Steere, nurse manager for IV Therapy Services at Hartford Hospital in Connecticut, also weighed in on the findings, expressing optimism about the material's potential to reduce vascular access complications like bloodstream infections. "Since we started using AVI’s HydroMID® catheters in early 2023, our facility has recorded zero catheter-related bloodstream infections," Steere noted.

Central-line associated bloodstream infections (CLABSIs) can have severe implications for both patients and healthcare facilities. They can extend hospital stays by over 17 days and add more than $55,000 to the cost per admission. Moreover, they increase the risk of mortality for ICU patients by more than 3.5 times. Financially, a single CLABSI incident can result in losses exceeding $1 million for a hospital, not including the penalties from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and other patient complications. Unfortunately, the rate of CLABSI infections has surged by up to 51 percent since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Access Vascular was established to tackle the most common and expensive complications in intravenous therapy—namely infection, thrombosis, and phlebitis. The company has taken a unique approach to reducing thrombus formation by creating intravenous catheters from a proprietary hydrophilic material designed to mimic the body's natural chemistry. This innovative strategy aims to avoid the foreign body response and the resultant complications.

AVI’s products, including HydroPICC® and HydroMID®, have received FDA clearance and have earned multiple awards for their innovative approach.