San Diego, California – May 2, 2018 – ClearFlow Inc. has announced that an international society of leading heart surgeons known as ERAS^® Cardiac Surgery presented evidenced-based expert consensus statements at the 98^th annual meeting of the American Association for Thoracic Surgeons on April 28, 2018. Amongst key recommendations to promote enhanced patient outcomes after cardiac surgery is the use of Active Clearance techniques to maintain chest tube patency.  The PleuraFlow^® ACT^® System is the only FDA cleared device with the indication to prevent or minimize retained blood in patients recovering from heart surgery.

The PleuraFlow ACT System is indicated for use during cardiothoracic surgical procedures and chest trauma. Its Active Clearance Technology proactively inhibits and disrupts clot formation inside the chest tube to reduce the likelihood of chest tube occlusion. A patent chest tube enables evacuation of blood and fluid from the operative site after closure of the surgical wound and reduces retained blood, which is accepted by physicians as contributing to many common complications after surgery, including post-operative atrial fibrillation (POAF), pleural effusions and pericardial effusions.

ERAS is an international, non-profit, multi-disciplinary medical society devoted to the improvement of perioperative care. “Enhanced Recovery After Surgery” or ERAS^® Cardiac Surgery is the sole official ERAS^® Cardiac Surgical Specialty Society representing ERAS^® globally.  Its stated mission is to facilitate optimization of perioperative care of cardiac surgical patients through collaborative discovery, analysis, expert consensus, and dissemination of best recovery practices that will improve both short and long-term outcomes and value, and decrease complications and related patient readmissions.

“Over the last year we have engaged in a formal process to solicit input, consider various protocols, and assess the class and strength of evidence of various protocols that may help enhance recovery after heart surgery,” said ERAS^® Cardiac Surgery President, Dr. Daniel Engelman. “This is the first time such a comprehensive evidenced based approach has been used to bring cardiac surgery into the growing international patient safety movement known as ERAS.”

At the session held on Saturday, April 28^th, 2018 at the AATS, Louis Perrault, MD, Ph.D, Chief of Cardiac Surgery, Montreal Heart Institute gave a presentation titled “Modern Chest Drainage Strategies to Reduce Complications and Costs.”  Dr. Perrault reviewed the frequent problem of chest tube clogging, and how this can result in retained blood syndrome and postoperative atrial fibrillation (POAF) as well as other complications that can prolong recovery after surgery and increase costs.

“This is the first international expert consensus effort summarizing the growing body of literature on the subject of chest tube clogging and retained blood,” said Paul Molloy, CEO of Clearflow, Inc.  “There are now five clinical trials demonstrating the effectiveness of Active Clearance Technology compared to methods like chest tube stripping for maintenance of chest tube patency after heart surgery.  The ERAS consensus of Active Clearance Technology as a Class I, Level B (NR) recommendation in the first ever ERAS statement in cardiac surgery is a major step forward for patient care after cardiac surgery and is underpinned by strong clinical evidence that supports active maintenance of chest tube patency to prevent retained blood syndrome in the early hours after heart surgery.”

An additional ERAS session was held on Tuesday, May 1, 2018 at the AATS where participants discussed the ERAS recommendations, taken as a whole, can work synergistically to help reduce overall complication rates and associated costs after heart surgery.

“The growing impact of ERAS in all surgical fields worldwide is a testament to its effectiveness and ability to bend the curve on preventing potentially avoidable complications and costs in patients after surgery,” said Paul Molloy.  At the AATS session on Tuesday, medical experts outlined the process for evolving current care efforts, where there is considerable practice variation resulting in inefficient care and often sub optimal outcomes to incorporate ERAS protocols where practice variation can be reduced and outcomes improved.  We are encouraged to see Active Clearance Technology included in this effort as an effective tool to help minimize complications and reduce costs after surgery.”

About ClearFlow, Inc.

ClearFlow, Inc. is an Anaheim, CA based medical device company that has developed a patented active blood and fluid evacuation system to speed recovery, reduce complications and lower healthcare costs related to medical tube obstruction. The company has been awarded several prestigious awards, including the 2017 Global Frost & Sullivan Award for New Product Innovation, the European Association of Cardiothoracic Surgeons Techno-College Innovation Award for worldwide innovation that has the potential to change the standard of care in heart and lung surgery, and the Innovations in Cardiovascular Interventions Award, among others.

PleuraFlow, Active Clearance Technology, and FlowGlide are registered trademarks of ClearFlow, Inc.

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