Study Finds Zero Patient Deaths from Opioid-Induced Respiratory Depression Over 10 Years with Masimo SET® and Masimo Patient SafetyNet™ Technology

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IRVINE, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Masimo (NASDAQ: MASI) today announced the results of a recently published ten-year retrospective study in which researchers at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center investigated the impact of an integrated clinical surveillance monitoring system, using Masimo SET® and Patient SafetyNet™ technologies, on mortality related to use of prescribed opioids in the general ward. Over the ten years studied, of 111,488 patients in units with surveillance available, there were zero patient deaths and no patients were harmed by opioid-induced respiratory depression while continuous monitoring was in use. In contrast, among patients in units without surveillance available, there were three deaths.1


The surveillance monitoring system provided continuous monitoring using Masimo SET® Measure-through Motion and Low Perfusion™ pulse oximetry, and was comprised of Masimo Radical-7® and Rad-87® Pulse CO-Oximeters®, Root® Patient Monitoring and Connectivity Hubs, and Masimo Patient SafetyNet™, which provided supplemental remote monitoring at central view stations and alarm and alarm escalation notifications to clinicians’ pagers. Monitored parameters included oxygen saturation (SpO2) and pulse rate (PR). The researchers reviewed ten years of data collected from 2007 to 2017, over which time there were 126,697 general care unit discharges.

Dr. Sue McGrath and colleagues at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center found that, over the 10 years, of the 111,488 patients in units with surveillance monitoring available, “none died or were harmed by opioid-induced respiratory depression when surveillance monitoring was in use.” Of the 15,209 patients in unmonitored units, three patients died from opioid overdose. The reduced death rate when surveillance was available, compared to when it was not available, was statistically “significant” (p=0.03).

A fourth patient died in a unit where surveillance monitoring was available but Masimo technology was not being used at the time of the adverse event. The researchers noted, “The fact that one patient with known risk for opioid sensitivity died while in a unit where monitoring was available but not in use highlights the importance of system adoption and adherence to standards of care.”

The researchers concluded, “For a 10-year period, the rescue system with continuous surveillance monitoring had a profound effect on death from sedative/analgesic administration in the general care setting. This approach to patient safety can help address the risk of sedative/analgesic-related respiratory arrests in hospitals.”

Regarding the cost of deploying such a system, the researchers noted, “Although cost is often raised as a barrier to implementation, a previously performed financial analysis demonstrated cost-effectiveness of surveillance monitoring due primarily to intensive care unit patient days avoided when early detection of patient deterioration occurs.”

They continued, “This study confirms that surveillance monitoring for pharmacologically induced respiratory arrest in hospitalized patients can virtually eliminate deaths due to this serious but treatable complication. In other high-risk, safety-focused industries, the level of evidence that currently exists for continuous surveillance monitoring to mitigate the risk of accidental sedative/analgesic overdose would likely prompt immediate calls for widespread implementation of safety interventions.”

Joe Kiani, Founder and CEO of Masimo, commented, “We are incredibly grateful to Dr. McGrath, her colleagues, and everyone at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center for demonstrating the value of continuous monitoring of post-surgical patients over a ten-year period. Hundreds of other hospitals have adopted our technology and have reported similar results. We hope that this new study will inspire every other institution to implement Masimo SET® on their general floor to eliminate preventable deaths due to opioid overdose, especially at this time when illnesses that impact the respiratory system, such as COVID-19, are so prevalent.”

In previously published studies at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, researchers found that after deploying the continuous monitoring system in the original 36-bed unit, there was a 65% reduction in rapid response team activations and a 48% reduction in transfers back to the ICU.2 After five years of use, they reported zero preventable deaths or brain damage due to opioids, as well as cost savings of $7 million,3 and after ten years, they reported maintaining a 50% reduction in unplanned transfers and a 60% reduction in rescue events, despite increases in patient acuity and occupancy.4

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About Masimo

Masimo (NASDAQ: MASI) is a global medical technology company that develops and produces a wide array of industry-leading monitoring technologies, including innovative measurements, sensors, patient monitors, and automation and connectivity solutions. Our mission is to improve patient outcomes and reduce the cost of care. Masimo SET® Measure-through Motion and Low Perfusion™ pulse oximetry, introduced in 1995, has been shown in over 100 independent and objective studies to outperform other pulse oximetry technologies.5 Masimo SET® has also been shown to help clinicians reduce severe retinopathy of prematurity in neonates,6 improve CCHD screening in newborns,7 and, when used for continuous monitoring with Masimo Patient SafetyNet™ in post-surgical wards, reduce rapid response team activations, ICU transfers, and costs.8-10 Masimo SET® is estimated to be used on more than 200 million patients in leading hospitals and other healthcare settings around the world,11 and is the primary pulse oximetry at 9 of the top 10 hospitals listed in the 2019-20 U.S. News and World Report Best Hospitals Honor Roll.12 Masimo continues to refine SET® and in 2018, announced that SpO2 accuracy on RD SET® sensors during conditions of motion has been significantly improved, providing clinicians with even greater confidence that the SpO2 values they rely on accurately reflect a patient’s physiological status. In 2005, Masimo introduced rainbow® Pulse CO-Oximetry technology, allowing noninvasive and continuous monitoring of blood constituents that previously could only be measured invasively, including total hemoglobin (SpHb®), oxygen content (SpOC™), carboxyhemoglobin (SpCO®), methemoglobin (SpMet®), Pleth Variability Index (PVi®), RPVi™ (rainbow® PVi), and Oxygen Reserve Index (ORi™). In 2013, Masimo introduced the Root® Patient Monitoring and Connectivity Platform, built from the ground up to be as flexible and expandable as possible to facilitate the addition of other Masimo and third-party monitoring technologies; key Masimo additions include Next Generation SedLine® Brain Function Monitoring, O3® Regional Oximetry, and ISA™ Capnography with NomoLine® sampling lines. Masimo’s family of continuous and spot-check monitoring Pulse CO-Oximeters® includes devices designed for use in a variety of clinical and non-clinical scenarios, including tetherless, wearable technology, such as Radius-7® and Radius PPG™, portable devices like Rad-67™, fingertip pulse oximeters like MightySat® Rx, and devices available for use both in the hospital and at home, such as Rad-97®. Masimo hospital automation and connectivity solutions are centered around the Iris® platform, and include Iris Gateway®, Patient SafetyNet, Replica™, Halo ION™, UniView™, Doctella™, and Masimo SafetyNet™. Additional information about Masimo and its products may be found at www.masimo.com. Published clinical studies on Masimo products can be found at www.masimo.com/evidence/featured-studies/feature/.

ORi and RPVi have not received FDA 510(k) clearance and are not available for sale in the United States. The use of the trademark Patient SafetyNet is under license from University HealthSystem Consortium.

References

  1. McGrath S, McGovern K, Perreard I, Huang V, Moss L, Blike G. Inpatient Respiratory Arrest Associated with Sedative and Analgesic Medications: Impact of Continuous Monitoring on Patient Mortality and Severe Morbidity. J Patient Saf. 14 March 2020. DOI: 10.1097/PTS.0000000000000696.
  2. Taenzer A et al. Impact of Pulse Oximetry Surveillance on Rescue Events and Intensive Care Unit Transfers: A Before-And-After Concurrence Study. 2010; 112(2):282-287.
  3. Taenzer A et al. Postoperative Monitoring – The Dartmouth Experience. Anesthesia Patient Safety Foundation Newsletter. Spring-Summer 2012.
  4. McGrath S et al. Surveillance Monitoring Management for General Care Units: Strategy, Design, and Implementation. The Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient Safety. 2016 Jul;42(7):293-302.
  5. Estimate: Masimo data on file.
  6. Published clinical studies on pulse oximetry and the benefits of Masimo SET® can be found on our website at http://www.masimo.com. Comparative studies include independent and objective studies which are comprised of abstracts presented at scientific meetings and peer-reviewed journal articles.
  7. Taenzer AH et al. Impact of pulse oximetry surveillance on rescue events and intensive care unit transfers: a before-and-after concurrence study. Anesthesiology. 2010:112(2):282-287.
  8. Taenzer A et al. Postoperative Monitoring – The Dartmouth Experience. Anesthesia Patient Safety Foundation Newsletter. Spring-Summer 2012.
  9. McGrath SP et al. Surveillance Monitoring Management for General Care Units: Strategy, Design, and Implementation. The Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient Safety. 2016 Jul;42(7):293-302.
  10. Castillo A et al. Prevention of Retinopathy of Prematurity in Preterm Infants through Changes in Clinical Practice and SpO2 Technology. Acta Paediatr. 2011 Feb;100(2):188-92.
  11. de-Wahl Granelli A et al. Impact of pulse oximetry screening on the detection of duct dependent congenital heart disease: a Swedish prospective screening study in 39,821 newborns. BMJ. 2009;Jan 8;338.
  12. http://health.usnews.com/health-care/best-hospitals/articles/best-hospitals-honor-roll-and-overview.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release includes forward-looking statements as defined in Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, in connection with the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements include, among others, statements regarding the potential effectiveness of Masimo SET®, Rad-87®, Root®, and Patient SafetyNet™. These forward-looking statements are based on current expectations about future events affecting us and are subject to risks and uncertainties, all of which are difficult to predict and many of which are beyond our control and could cause our actual results to differ materially and adversely from those expressed in our forward-looking statements as a result of various risk factors, including, but not limited to: risks related to our assumptions regarding the repeatability of clinical results; risks related to our belief that Masimo’s unique noninvasive measurement technologies, including Masimo SET®, Rad-87, Root, and Patient SafetyNet, contribute to positive clinical outcomes and patient safety; risks related to our belief that Masimo noninvasive medical breakthroughs provide cost-effective solutions and unique advantages; risks related to COVID-19; as well as other factors discussed in the “Risk Factors” section of our most recent reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), which may be obtained for free at the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. Although we believe that the expectations reflected in our forward-looking statements are reasonable, we do not know whether our expectations will prove correct. All forward-looking statements included in this press release are expressly qualified in their entirety by the foregoing cautionary statements. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of today’s date. We do not undertake any obligation to update, amend or clarify these statements or the “Risk Factors” contained in our most recent reports filed with the SEC, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be required under the applicable securities laws.

Contacts

Masimo
Evan Lamb

949-396-3376

elamb@masimo.com