IRRAS Fluid Exchange System Shows Favorable Outcomes in Draining Intracranial Bleeds

In a postmarket study, IRRAS’s IRRAflow fluid exchange system more effectively removed blood from chronic subdural hematomas (cSDH) and reduced catheter-related infections when compared to passive drainage alone, researchers reported in the journal Operative Neurosurgery.

Passive draining, the current standard of care for cSDH, which occurs when blood collects between the skull and the brain, uses an external ventricular drain that waits for gravity to drain the blood collection. In contrast, the IRRAflow system uses an active, controlled irrigation that cleans the catheter probe’s surface, helping to disrupt clot or bacteria formation.

In a study, researchers at the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences in Buffalo, N.Y., compared the IRRAflow device with the current standard of care, breaking the 55 patients in the study into two groups: 21 into the IRRAflow arm and the rest into a passive drainage treatment group.

After treatment, the IRRAflow group had a statistically significant higher rate of hematoma clearance as well as a statistically significant reduction in catheter-related infections.