Relative risks of reported serious injury and death associated with hemostasis devices by gender

The Food and Drug Administration Office of Women's Health: Impact of Science on Regulatory Policy: An Update

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration Office of Women's Health (FDA OWH) has supported women's health research for ∼20 years, funding more than 300 studies on women's health issues, including research on diseases/conditions that disproportionately affect women in addition to the evaluation of sex differences in the performance of and response to medical products. These important women's health issues are studied from a regulatory perspective, with a focus on improving and optimizing medical product development and the evaluation of product safety and efficacy in women. These findings have influenced industry direction, labeling, product discontinuation, safety notices, and clinical practice. In addition, OWH-funded research has addressed gaps in the knowledge about diseases and medical conditions that impact women across the life span such as cardiovascular disease, pregnancy, menopause, osteoporosis, and the safe use of numerous medical products.

Enrollment and monitoring of women in post-approval studies for medical devices mandated by the Food and Drug Administration

BACKGROUND

Disease presentation, prevalence, and treatment effects vary by sex, thus it is important to ensure adequate participation of both sexes in medical device post-approval studies (PAS).

METHODS

The goals of this study were to determine the participation rate of women in PAS mandated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and if participation varied by clinical area. The study also evaluated the frequency in which enrollment by sex is reported by applicant reports and FDA reviews, as well as the frequency in which final study reports analyze whether outcomes differ by sex.

RESULTS

Of 89 studies with enrollment completed, data on sex of participants were available in 93% of submitted reports, while data on enrollment by sex was evaluated and noted in 43% of FDA review memos. Study participation varied by clinical area, with female participation ranging from 32% in cardiovascular PAS to 90% in PAS for reconstructive devices. Of 53 completed studies, data on enrollment by sex was provided in 49 of the final reports. Of these 14% included a multivariate analysis that included sex as a covariate and 4% included a subgroup analysis for female participants.

CONCLUSIONS

Data on sex was not routinely assessed in FDA reviews. Based on these findings, FDA implemented new procedures to ensure participation by sex is evaluated in PAS reviews. FDA will continue working with applicants to develop PAS that enroll and retain proportions of women consistent with the sex-specific prevalence for the disease or condition the device is used to treat.

Blood Pressure and Risks of Vascular Complications After Percutaneous Coronary Intervention

Evidence-based protocols are needed for care of the nearly 1,000,000 patients in the United States who undergo percutaneous coronary interventional procedures. This article describes a case-matched control study of 300 patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention in which specific demographic, physician-sensitive, and nurse-sensitive factors were tested to determine their relative contribution to the incidence of vascular complications. Findings included that patients with a mean systolic blood pressure of 160 mm Hg or higher were 8 times more likely to have vascular complications (P < .001). Patients receiving heparin (with and without glycoprotein IIb/IIIa inhibitors) versus bivalirudin were 3 times more likely to have vascular complications (P = .008). Patients with hemostasis by AngioSeal and those with a history of hypertension were 77% (P =.031) and 61% (P = .005), respectively, less likely to have complications.

Risk of local adverse events by gender following cardiac catheterization

PURPOSE

To assess the reason for the relative high risk of local complications for women following cardiac catheterization by evaluating the associations between gender, sheath size, and local adverse outcomes following cardiac catheterization.

METHODS

The data used in this study were obtained from a portion of the American College of Cardiology-National Cardiovascular Data Registry (ACC-NCDR), which included 13 878 patients who underwent cardiac catheterization at one of 59 participating cardiac catheterization institutions throughout the United States during late 2003. Rates of serious local vascular adverse events were calculated by gender following cardiac catheterization, by type of vascular hemostasis used, stratified by arterial sheath size.

RESULTS

Serious local vascular events were reported in 3.54% of patients, most commonly hematoma (2.00%). The relative risk for women of any vascular complication was 1.40 [95%CI = 1.17, 1.67, p = 0.0002]. A statistically significant relative risk for woman was evident when collagen plug devices or manual compression alone were used as the first method for hemostasis. The rate of vascular complications increased progressively with increasing sheath size, more so in women than in men.

CONCLUSIONS

High relative risk for women of local vascular complications following cardiac catheterization was demonstrated with use of manual compression, as well as with collagen plug devices to control femoral artery bleeding. Large sheath size is associated with both a relatively high absolute risk and a high relative risk for women. Knowledge of this information should be considered by interventional cardiologists in making decisions on how to achieve hemostasis following cardiac catheterization.