PleurX™ Catheter System Celebrates 20 Year Anniversary

On June 27, 1997, the PleurX catheter system received FDA clearance and started the 20 year journey of offering compassionate care to more than 400,000 patients with pleural effusions and malignant ascites in over 50 countries. The PleurX catheter system offers patients, many in the final months of their lives, an option of managing their symptoms in the comfort of their home, rather than in the hospital.

“BD is committed to continuing to advance the health and treatment options for these patients,” states Ryan Lipe, Senior Business Director, Interventional Specialties at BD. “Working closely with our customers and thought leaders in these areas we have continuously supported ongoing research, evolved our portfolio with expanded indications and introduced product enhancements to ensure the best options are available to these patients in their most vulnerable days.”

Studied in more than 50 clinical articles, the PleurX catheter system has received the reputation of being a clinically proven solution to treat a fragile patient population. With the PleurX catheter system, physicians can offer their patients the option to take control and effectively manage their symptoms. It was the first catheter system to be cleared for malignant ascites, malignant and non-malignant pleural effusions, and achieving pleurodesis. More recently it was cleared for delivery of a sclerosing agent, and for recurrent pleural effusions due to congestive heart failure (CHF). BD is continually working to expand this platform to be able to help more patients, provide flexible options to clinicians and continue to promote reduced length of stay through increasing outpatient options.

Dr. Richard Light, author of the book Pleural Diseases (now in its 6th edition) states, “The PleurX catheter was developed out of necessity. We needed to find a way to control patients’ symptoms without hospitalization for several days. If a patient has a terminal illness, the more high quality days you can give them, the better. The PleurX catheter makes the patient’s remaining days much more comfortable. That is extremely important when your life expectancy is relatively short.” Dr. Light is an author or contributor on more than 400 articles and has spoken on the topic of pleural effusions in 56 countries.

For more information, please visit www.bd.com/pleurx