New Data Indicates Use of Baxter’s FLOSEAL May be Associated With Lower Hospital Costs

Baxter International Inc. has announced publication of the results of two health economic analyses in the Journal of Medical Economics supporting FLOSEAL Hemostatic Matrix as a cost-effective tool for controlling bleeding during cardiac and spinal surgeries that may contribute to significant cost savings for hospitals.^{1, 2} The analyses are based on previously published retrospective studies of a large U.S. hospital billing database that observed fewer complications in surgeries that used FLOSEAL compared to another flowable hemostatic matrix.^{3, 4, 5}
 
Complications during surgery, such as the need for blood transfusions or longer times in the operating room, can increase costs for a hospital and impact patient care. In the cardiac surgery analysis, researchers calculated the potential cost savings of using FLOSEAL when compared to SURGIFLO to be $1.5 million annually for an average U.S. hospital, assuming FLOSEAL use would result in improved clinical outcomes similar to those observed in the prior retrospective study.³ Savings would come from fewer major and minor complications, surgical revisions, blood product transfusions and hours of operating time.
 
“Based on the real-world outcomes observed in the earlier study, this new health economics analysis identifies a substantial opportunity for hospitals to realize potential cost savings on cardiac surgery operations, which are among the surgical specialties the most susceptible to the occurrence of intra-operative and post-operative bleeding,” said Domenico Calcaterra, M.D., Ph.D., Minneapolis Heart Institute at Abbott Northwestern Hospital, Minn. Calcaterra co-authored the original retrospective study.
 
In the second study, researchers identified potential cost savings of $151 per major and $574 per severe spinal surgery when compared to SURGIFLO for hospitals with average surgical volume by improving surgical outcomes and efficiencies.² The savings would come from a combination of resource use factors, including shorter operative room time, a lower blood transfusion rate and lower product volume use.^4,5
 
In addition to reducing a hospital’s costs, addressing bleeding effectively and quickly is critical to avoiding major and minor complications for patients. As a leader in hemostasis, Baxter is committed to providing innovative solutions for surgeons. Conventional methods of controlling bleeding, such as suture, cautery or ligature, may be ineffective or impractical in certain surgery settings. In these cases, surgeons may use hemostatic agents such as glues, adhesives and sealants to help address bleeding. FLOSEAL is an indicated and approved adjunct hemostatic agent proven effective in a wide-range of bleeding scenarios.⁶
 
The new economic analyses quantify the potential cost savings to hospitals associated with FLOSEAL use, assuming the real-world outcomes observed in earlier studies are attributable to FLOSEAL use. Both economic analyses are based on previously published retrospective analyses which observed certain improved outcomes associated with surgical cases in which FLOSEAL rather than SURGIFLO was used. By nature of their design, these retrospective studies could not conclusively determine whether FLOSEAL use was causally related to the observed improved clinical outcomes. The studies include assessments of a large number of cases with data extracted from Premier’s United States (U.S.) Perspective Database, which contains more than 490 million hospital encounters and captures approximately 25 percent of U.S. hospital discharges. Detailed explanations of the methodologies and study limitations are available in the cardiac surgery analysis and spinal surgery analysis.
 
Baxter provides a broad portfolio of essential renal and hospital products, including home, acute and in-center dialysis; sterile IV solutions; infusion systems and devices; parenteral nutrition; biosurgery products and anesthetics; and pharmacy automation, software and services. The company’s global footprint and the critical nature of its products and services play a key role in expanding access to healthcare in emerging and developed countries.
 
FLOSEAL Matrix is indicated in surgical procedures (other than ophthalmic) as an adjunct to hemostasis when control of bleeding by ligature or conventional procedure is ineffective or impractical.

References:
1. Makhija, D., et al. Cost-consequence analysis of different active flowable hemostatic matrices in cardiac surgical procedures. J Med Econ. 2017 Feb 3:1-9. doi: 10.1080/13696998.2017.1284079. [Epub ahead of print] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28097913
2. Makhija, D., et al. Cost-Consequence Analysis of Two Different Active Flowable Hemostatic Matrices in Spine Surgery Patients. J Med Econ. 2017 Feb: 8:1-19 [Epub ahead of print]
3. Tackett S, Calcaterra D, Magee G, Lattouf OM. Real world outcomes of hemostatic matrices in cardiac surgery. J Cardiothorac Vasc Anesth. 2014;28(6):1558-1565.
4. Price JS. Observational evaluation of outcomes and resource utilization from hemostatic matrices in spine surgery. J Med Econ. 2015 Oct;18(10):777-86.
5. Price JS, Tackett S, Patel V. Observational evaluation of outcomes and resource utilization from hemostatic matrices in spine surgery. J Med Econ 2015: 1-10 (Addendum).
6. FLOSEAL Hemostatic Matrix Instructions For Use. Hayward, CA: Baxter Healthcare Corporation.