Cath Lab Digest

Laboratories would also be enrolled in a portfolio of technological and scientific education programs that are tailored to the relevant needs of accredited laboratories, says E. Eugene Baillie, MD, FASCP, president, ASCP.

It is our hope that in the future, JCAHO surveyors could review the API proficiency testing results prior to survey, instead of searching for them on-site, says Joanne Born, executive director, Laboratory Program, JCAHO. This enhancement would save time and enable more on-site discussion and education.

Demographics to Take Long-Term Toll on U.S. Hospitals: Expect Hefty Increase In Demand for Beds and Services

The demand for beds in U.S. hospitals is projected to increase by as much as 46 percent in the next 25 years, according to a new study by Solucient. This increase of an additional 238,000 beds is expected to result from long-term demographic shifts in the U.S. population, which could drive up demand for inpatient acute care through 2027.

The new long-term forecasts also show that total acute care admissions are projected to increase by 13 million cases during that same time frame a 41 percent increase from the current number of national admissions.

Such forecasts come at a time when many acute care hospitals nationwide are experiencing increases in hospitalizations, resulting in capacity constraints, and an unprecedented boom in hospital construction and expansion projects.

Several demographic factors are likely to contribute to the 25-year growth in inpatient care, including the aging of the baby boom generation, increasing life expectancy, rising fertility rates, and continued immigration. These factors, however, will not affect each market equally.

Regionally, inpatient demand will grow fastest in the Western and Southern states and more slowly in Midwestern and Northeastern regions. However, even in slower-growing communities, the aging population will prompt a hospitalization growth rate that will outpace growth of the total population. For example, while the total Chicago population is expected to grow by only 13 percent in the next 25 years, the large number of aging baby boomers retiring in that market will spark a 30 percent increase in inpatient bed demand more than twice the population growth rate.

This analysis quantified the potential impact of demographic changes by applying demographic projections to population-based and age-specific hospital utilization rates built from Solucient’s hospital data warehouse. The study assumes no change in use rates for both admissions and patient days over the time period. Bed demand is calculated on an assumed 80 percent bed occupancy rate.

For a copy of the analysis, National and Local Impact of Long-term Demographic Change on Inpatient Acute Care, or to order local information for a specific market, visit the Publications and Reports section of the Solucient web site at www.solucient.com.

Corvas Initiates Phase II Clinical Program for its Novel Anticoagulant rNAPc2 in Patients with Acute Coronary Syndromes

Corvas International, Inc. commenced a multi-center, Phase II clinical program to investigate the safety and efficacy of its proprietary anticoagulant, recombinant nematode anticoagulant protein c2 (rNAPc2) in patients with acute coronary syndromes (ACS), including unstable angina and non-ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (UA/NSTEMI).

The objective of the clinical program, referred to as ANTHEM/TIMI 32 (Anticoagulation with NAPc2 To Help Eliminate MACE (Major Adverse Cardiac Events)/TIMI 32), is to evaluate a safe and effective dose of rNAPc2 in moderate to high-risk patients with UA/NSTEMI. The program will be conducted in three parts. Each will investigate rNAPc2 in combination with current anticoagulant and antiplatelet therapies using the low molecular weight heparin (LMWH) enoxaparin and aspirin, respectively. The use of the antiplatelet agents clopidogrel and platelet glycoprotein IIb/IIIa antagonists will also be included.

The first part of the program will evaluate a safe dose range of rNAPc2. It will be administered as an intravenous bolus injection in a double-blind, placebo-controlled dose escalation trial in 125 UA/NSTEMI patients who are likely to undergo cardiac catheterization leading to percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). The primary outcome measurement will be significant bleeding using contemporary criteria. Secondary efficacy endpoints will include recurrent myocardial ischemia using continuous electrocardiographic monitoring over 7 days using portable Holter devices. The trial will be conducted in 15 clinical centers in the United States.

The second and third parts of the program will focus on dose confirmation, with the primary objectives of evaluating clinical efficacy and safety. Studies will be double-blind and placebo-controlled, and include patients undergoing either early PCI or primary medical treatment. The ANTHEM/TIMI 32 Phase II clinical program may enroll up to 1,600 patients in 120 clinical centers in North America and Europe.