On May 1, 2020, CHF Solutions announced that it has shipped Aquadex product to a specialty care center designated for the most severe COVID-19 patients in Minnesota. Several hospitals across the country have included a simplified ultrafiltration system, such as Aquadex therapy, into their treatment protocol for fluid management for COVID-19 patients, especially when dialysis equipment and staff are limited.

Several hospitals across the country have included a simplified ultrafiltration system, such as Aquadex therapy, into their treatment protocol for fluid management for COVID-19 patients, especially when dialysis equipment and staff are limited. This simple, flexible and smart system allows for a 4:1 patient to nurse ratio, versus a 1:1 ratio required by dialysis equipment. This means that the nurse does not have to remain by the bedside for the entire treatment, thereby preserving vital staff and equipment for patients that do require dialysis.

A recent publication on fluid stewardship in critically ill patients with COVID-19 from Baylor University Medical Center, published April 16, 2020, identifies isolated ultrafiltration is an “optimal strategy that primarily focuses on fluid extraction and optimization of volume status” while loop diuretic use in critically ill patients with positive fluid balance was associated with prolonged mechanical ventilation. In addition, it states “portable ultrafiltration devices could prove particularly helpful, in that their extremely small extracorporeal volume will help avoid a potential adverse hemodynamic impact in the critically ill. Moreover, the predictability of the fluid extraction will make it more likely to achieve the precise goal for the de-escalation process.”