Sphere Medical has announced the results of a clinical study evaluating its new Proxima miniature inline blood gas analyser.
The study included 20 intensive care unit patients with a range of clinical conditions, including trauma, head injury, post-surgical recovery and sepsis. Patients were monitored using the Proxima patient dedicated analyser for up to three days. Each time a sample was tested on the patient dedicated analyser, a concurrent sample was drawn and tested on the hospital’s benchtop analyser (Roche Diagnostics’ Cobas b221). Results demonstrated excellent agreement for pH, pCO2, pO2 and K+ between the analysers, while Proxima could be used for trend analysis for Haematocrit.
The study also observed the potential of patient-dedicated arterial blood gas analysers to allow close monitoring of critically-ill patients without leaving the patient’s bedside or net loss of blood for the patient.
The study concluded that: “Proxima is well suited to enable staff to more closely manage unstable and critically-ill patients. This device may be of significant benefit to patients at risk of iatrogenic anaemia or those being treated in side and isolation rooms.
Blood gas is considered a ‘vital sign’ that requires monitoring to ensure the effective management of patients in the critical care environment, particularly for those that are unstable.
Maintenance of tissue oxygenation, ventilation and acid-base status is a major concern for most ICUs, since life-threatening changes in these characteristics can occur suddenly and so rapid results are often needed for effective patient monitoring and treatment.