Medtronic Initiates PRODIGY - a Global Study to Identify Those at High Risk for Opioid Induced Respiratory Depression, a Preventable Form of Respiratory Compromise
Medtronic plc
Medtronic plc

DUBLIN - May 31, 2017 - Medtronic plc (MDT) recently launched PRODIGY, a 1,650-patient global study, to identify individuals at high risk for opioid induced respiratory depression (OIRD), a form of respiratory compromise. It is the first study to assess the clinical and economic benefits derived from the use of pulse oximetry (a device that measures oxygen saturation and pulse rate) and capnography (a device that measures carbon dioxide in exhaled air and respiration rate), in patients receiving opioid medication on hospital general care floors. The first patient was enrolled in the PRODIGY study at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center.

The study is titled PRODIGY (PRediction of Opioid-induced respiratory Depression In patients monitored by capnoGraphY), and is a prospective, multi-center, post-market, global study conducted at 16 sites.

Through the development of a risk assessment scoring tool, the study will seek to identify patients at increased risk for respiratory compromise. It will evaluate hospital ward patients receiving opioids for post-surgical or non-surgical pain who are continuously monitored with capnography and oximetry. The study will also help inform clinicians` understanding of the true incidence of respiratory compromise, which may be underestimated. The scoring tool will be used at the trial sites, with the goal of wider adoption across more hospitals following completion of the study.

Respiratory compromise is a potentially life-threatening, progressive condition negatively impacting a person`s ability to breathe. Patients with OIRD experience a decrease in the effectiveness of ventilatory function, an ability to breathe, after opioid administration.1 This condition is rapidly becoming the third-most costly hospital inpatient expense in the U.S., and dramatically increases the likelihood of adverse patient outcomes and cost of patient care.2 Not only is respiratory compromise common and dangerous, it has been very difficult to predict.3-5

The continuous monitoring of a patient`s oxygen and carbon dioxide levels will also allow PRODIGY to identify other causes of respiratory compromise in patients on the general care ward. Currently, ward patients` breathing is monitored manually, and typically is no more frequent than every four hours.

"The PRODIGY study allows us to deepen our understanding of the development of respiratory compromise, including OIRD, and determine strategies for earlier detection and prevention," said Dr. Frank Overdyk, lead investigator of the PRODIGY study and a staff anesthesiologist at the Roper St. Francis Health System in Charleston, S.C.