Fresenius Medical Care North America Presents New Insights Related to COVID-19 and Dialysis Innovations at Kidney Week 2020

WALTHAM, Mass., Oct. 22, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Fresenius Medical Care North America (FMCNA), the nation’s leading provider of kidney care products and services, today announced the presentation of 65 company-affiliated abstracts at the American Society of Nephrology (ASN) Annual Conference Kidney Week 2020 Reimagined, which runs virtually from Oct. 22-25, 2020. These publications include new insights related to COVID-19, phosphate binders, a new dialysis system under development, and new software to attain relative blood volume.

In addition to the abstracts presented online, Dr. Jeffrey Hymes, SVP of Scientific and Clinical Affairs at FMCNA and Chief Medical Officer at Fresenius Kidney Care, will discuss the company’s pandemic response during the conference’s clinical practice session “COVID-19: The Pandemic and the Outpatient Dialysis Setting” on Oct. 25 at 10:30 a.m. ET.

“The research abstracts presented this year demonstrate our approach to confronting the pandemic, along with new solutions that aim to improve the treatment of people with kidney failure,” said Dr. Robert Kossmann, Chief Medical Officer for FMCNA. “These insights showcase the breadth and depth of our research team, highlighting the many ways that we are working to advance kidney care.”

The annual symposium, reimagined virtually for 2020, is one of the most influential gatherings of kidney professionals in the world. Some of the abstracts being presented by Fresenius Medical Care, and now available online as part of ASN’s Kidney Week 2020 Reimagined, include:

• Trajectories of Clinical and Laboratory Characteristics before COVID-19 Diagnosis in Hemodialysis Patients. The results presented in this abstract highlight changes in vital signs, body weight, and inflammatory markers that appear to be defining the onset of COVID-19 in hemodialysis (HD) patients.
• Trends in Fever and Respiratory Illness in Hemodialysis Patients During the COVID-19 Pandemic. This abstract details how surveillance of the trends in fever and respiratory illness have utility for early identification of areas with a COVID-19 outbreak in the dialysis population.
• Novel Ultrafiltration Rate (UFR) Feedback Controller for Attainment of Relative Blood Volume (RBV) Targets During Hemodialysis. Results from a pilot trial characterize the behavior of new software that provides real-time UFR adjustments throughout a dialysis treatment to steer the patient’s RBV curve into certain targets.
• Inline Turbidity Measurement Using an Optical Sensor for Early Detection of Peritonitis. A low-cost optical sensor detects white blood cells in spent peritoneal dialysate without alteration of the existing drain line. This technology helps to detect changes heralding peritonitis.
• Clinical Safety of a New Hemodialyzer with the Surface Modifying Molecule Endexo™. The new Optiflux Enexa™ dialyzer containing a fluorinated polyurethane surface modifying macromolecule (Endexo™) was well tolerated in a clinical study including 664 HD treatments in end stage renal disease patients.
• Hospital Admission Rates among Hemodialysis Patients with Persistent Hyperphosphatemia who were Prescribed Changes in Phosphate Binder Treatment: A Retrospective Analysis of Real-World Data. In HD patients treated with sevelamer at baseline, patients switched to Velphoro had a 15% lower rate of hospitalizations compared to patients switched to non-Velphoro phosphate binders.

About Fresenius Medical Care North America
Fresenius Medical Care North America (FMCNA) is the premier healthcare company focused on providing the highest quality care to people with renal and other chronic conditions. Through its industry-leading network of dialysis facilities and outpatient cardiac and vascular labs, Fresenius Medical Care North America provides coordinated healthcare services at pivotal care points for hundreds of thousands of chronically ill customers throughout the continent. As the world’s largest fully integrated renal company, it offers specialty pharmacy and laboratory services, and manufactures and distributes the most comprehensive line of dialysis equipment, disposable products, and renal pharmaceuticals. For more information, visit the FMCNA website at https://fmcna.com/.

Media Contacts:
Fresenius Medical Care North America
Brad Puffer
Corporate Communications
Brad.Puffer@fmc-na.com
(781) 699-3331

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SOURCE Fresenius Medical Care Holdings, Inc.