Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Issue New ICD-10-PCS Code for ZOLL Medical's TherOx SSO2 Therapy

CHELMSFORD, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--ZOLL^® Medical Corporation, an Asahi Kasei company that manufactures medical devices and related software solutions, announced today that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ICD-10 Coordination and Maintenance Committee has issued a new ICD-10-PCS code for TherOx^® SuperSaturated Oxygen (SSO₂) Therapy. The new code (5A0222C), for cardiac intra-arterial use, is effective for hospital discharges beginning October 1, 2022. The code includes treatment of patients with left anterior descending ST-elevation myocardial infarction (LAD STEMI) heart attacks, which have higher mortality rates than other types of heart attacks. SSO₂ Therapy is the first and only FDA-approved treatment that has been clinically proven to significantly reduce damage to cardiac muscle in heart attack patients after coronary angioplasty with stenting.¹

SSO₂ Therapy is indicated for patients who suffer LAD STEMI — also known as "widowmaker" heart attacks due to the high mortality rate — and are treated with stenting within six hours of symptom onset. The therapy delivers high levels of dissolved oxygen at 7–10 times the normal amount directly to the damaged heart muscle immediately after the coronary artery has been successfully opened via angioplasty and stenting. Multiple clinical trials have demonstrated the efficacy of SSO₂ Therapy to reduce infarct size.^1,2,3

“There are thousands of patients annually who can benefit from SSO₂ Therapy,^4,5 and the new ICD-10-PCS code is a significant milestone in the evolution and external validation of that therapy," said Christopher Barnabas, President of ZOLL Circulation. “This is a major step toward capturing critical data and further demonstrating improved patient outcomes."

ICD-10-PCS codes are granted by the CMS Coordination and Maintenance Committee to allow precise specification of procedures for use in health services research, epidemiology, statistical analysis, and administrative areas. The ICD-10-PCS is a procedure classification published by the United States for classifying procedures performed in hospital inpatient health care settings⁶ and ICD-10-PCS codes are widely used by hospitals to support data collection, payment, and electronic health records.

About ZOLL
ZOLL, an Asahi Kasei company, develops and markets medical devices and software solutions that help advance emergency care and save lives, while increasing clinical and operational efficiencies. With products for defibrillation and cardiac monitoring, circulation enhancement and CPR feedback, supersaturated oxygen therapy, data management, ventilation, therapeutic temperature management, and sleep apnea diagnosis and treatment, ZOLL provides a comprehensive set of technologies that help clinicians, EMS and fire professionals, as well as lay rescuers, improve patient outcomes in critical cardiopulmonary conditions. For more information, visit www.zoll.com.

About Asahi Kasei
The Asahi Kasei Group contributes to life and living for people around the world. Since its foundation in 1922 with ammonia and cellulose fiber business, Asahi Kasei has consistently grown through the proactive transformation of its business portfolio to meet the evolving needs of every age. With more than 40,000 employees around the world, the company contributes to sustainable society by providing solutions to the world’s challenges through its three business sectors of Material, Homes, and Health Care. Its health care operations include devices and systems for acute critical care, dialysis, therapeutic apheresis, transfusion, and manufacture of biotherapeutics, as well as pharmaceuticals and diagnostic reagents. For more information, visit www.asahi-kasei.com.

¹ Stone GW, et al. Circ Cardiovasc Intervent 2009;2:366-75.
² O’Neill WW, et al. Jour of Am Coll Cardiol. 2007;50: 5:397-405.
³ David SW, et al. Catheter Cardiovasc Interv. 2018;1–9.
⁴ https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/22068-stemi-heart-attack
⁵ Trends in myocardial infarction rates and case fatality by anatomical location in four United States communities, 1987 to 2008 (from the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study). Am J Cardiol. 2013 Dec 01;112(11):1714-9)
⁶ https://www.cms.gov/Medicare/Coding/ICD10/Downloads/2020-ICD-10-PCS-Guidelines.pdf

Copyright © 2022 ZOLL Medical Corporation. TherOx and ZOLL are trademarks or registered trademarks of ZOLL Medical Corporation in the United States and/or other countries. Asahi Kasei is a registered trademark of Asahi Kasei Corporation. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

Matt Hogan
ZOLL Medical Corporation
+1 (978) 805-6561
media@zoll.com