LAS VEGAS, May 14, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- American Society of Regional Anesthesia and Acute Pain Medicine Meeting (ASRA) -- Halyard Health (NYSE: HYH), a global medical technology company focused on preventing infection, eliminating pain and speeding recovery, today announced favorable clinical data supporting the use of the ON-Q* Pain Relief System in anterior lumbar interbody fusions (ALIF), complex foot and ankle surgery, and mastectomies. ON-Q* is a non-narcotic elastomeric pump that automatically and continuously delivers a regulated flow of local anesthetic to a patient's surgical site or in close proximity to nerves. The data will be showcased in poster presentations at the American Society of Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine (ASRA) Annual Meeting in Las Vegas from May 14-16, 2015.

Lead author Dr. Brian Vaughan, director of Acute Pain at Anesthesia Associates of Cincinnati and The Christ Hospital, will present a poster, "Retrospective, controlled evaluation comparing pain management utilizing a bilateral continuous TAP block to pain management using bilateral liposomal bupivacaine TAP blocks following spine surgical procedures with an anterior approach," which demonstrates that continuous transversus abdominis plane (TAP) blocks with ON-Q* were shown to be superior to bupivacaine liposome injectable suspension (EXPAREL®). The clinical study of 100 patients compared the efficacy of two techniques for the management of post-operative pain following anterior lumbar interbody fusion (ALIF) – a bilateral TAP block using bupivacaine liposome injection and a continuous TAP block using ON-Q*. Key findings include:

• Opioid consumption was statistically reduced throughout the hospital stay, with reductions of 46 percent, 34 percent and 34 percent on days 1, 2 and total (respectively) in the ON-Q* group.
• Patients in the ON-Q* group were able to go home from the hospital one day sooner than patients treated with bupivacaine liposome injection.

"When selecting post-operative pain management solutions, our number-one priority is to offer the best treatment options to our patients," said Dr. Vaughan. "Our study found that ON-Q* enables healthcare professionals to provide better pain management therapy to their patients for a longer period of time, allowing them to take less narcotics and return home from the hospital earlier than those treated with bupivacaine liposome injection."

Halyard is also showcasing two additional ON-Q* studies at the ASRA Annual Meeting, including:

Combined Continuous Popliteal and Saphenous Infusions Delivered by ON-Q* in Outpatient Total Foot and Ankle Procedures Show Reduction in Opioid Analgesics and Higher Pain Management Satisfaction
Authored by Dr. Vincent Kasper from United Anesthesia Services and Dr. Steven Raikin from Rothman Institute (both based in the Philadelphia area), the poster describes results from a study comparing postoperative pain control in patients receiving a continuous popliteal infusion with single-injection saphenous nerve block – versus a continuous popliteal infusion with continuous saphenous infusion – while undergoing complex foot and ankle procedures in an outpatient setting. All of the continuous infusions were delivered via ON-Q*. The study found that:  

• Patients in the dual-block (continuous popliteal infusion with continuous saphenous block) group fared better, showing a significant reduction in the consumption of opioid analgesics days 1 and 2 postoperatively (p<0.05).
• After discharge, patient-reported satisfaction with pain management was significantly higher in the dual-catheter group 8.5 out of 10 vs. 6.4 and 9 vs. 6.9 (p<0.05 POD 1 & 3).
• Patients in the single-injection group were 2.85 times more likely to require medication to control nausea following discharge.
• Complex inpatient foot and ankle cases can be managed successfully as outpatients with a dual-catheter continuous block.

Use of ON-Q* in a Multimodal Approach with Gabapentin for Postoperative Mastectomy Pain Reduces Opioid Consumption and Shortens Length-of-Stay
Dr. Vlad Frenk from Stamford Hospital in Stamford, Connecticut will present a poster detailing results from a 139-patient retrospective study that examined the use of ON-Q* to treat post-mastectomy pain. Key findings include:

• Compared to conventional on-demand opioid-based pain management, continuous paravertebral catheters using ON-Q* reduced opioid consumption by 31 percent.
• Using ON-Q* in a multimodal fashion with gabapentin reduced length of stay by 0.7 days, as well as a reduction in opioid consumption by 55 percent. A multimodal approach to post-operative analgesia resulted in a significant decrease in inpatient opioid use and decreased length of stay in patients undergoing major breast surgery.

"The results from these studies reinforce the data in more than 170 previously published and presented ON-Q* studies – which demonstrate benefits such as substantial opioid reduction, less pain, reduced costs and improvements in patient satisfaction," said Roger Massengale, general manager, Acute Pain at Halyard Health.

About Halyard Health
Halyard Health (NYSE: HYH) is a medical technology company focused on preventing infection, eliminating pain and speeding recovery for healthcare providers and their patients. Headquartered in Alpharetta, Georgia, Halyard is committed to addressing some of today's most important healthcare needs, such as preventing healthcare-associated infections and reducing the use of narcotics while helping patients move from surgery to recovery. Halyard's business segments — Surgical & Infection Prevention and Medical Devices — develop, manufacture and market clinically superior solutions that improve medical outcomes and business performance in more than 100 countries. For more information, visit www.halyardhealth.com.

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