Editor's Note This study from the Netherlands finds the addition of postoperative visits by anesthesia personnel (anesthesiologists or residents) to routine monitoring with modified early warning scores (MEWS) did not reduce 30-day mortality. A total of 5,190 (2,490 control, 2,700 intervention) medium- to high-risk elective surgical patients from nine academic…

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Editor's note Researchers at Australia-based RMIT University have developed a new antimicrobial suture material that can reduce infections and simplify postoperative monitoring. Laboratory testing on the surgical suture finds it is easily visible in CT scans and that it has strong antimicrobial properties, killing 99% of highly drug-resistant bacteria after…

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Editor's Note The Joint Commission, on February 1, announced that new resources are now available in its Health Care Equity Accreditation Standards & Resource Center, chronicling efforts by Boston Medical Center in its healthcare equity journey. The new resources include: Six “Snapshots” (brief synopses) focusing on challenges, successes, and lessons…

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Editor's Note Adding more anesthesiology residency positions, even without federal funding, may help hospitals save staffing costs and address shortages of anesthesia personnel, finds a study presented January 27 at the American Society of Anesthesiologists’ ADVANCE 2023, in Orlando, Florida. Researchers from the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center compared the…

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Editor's Note The New York Times on January 27 reported that 37% of aspiring nurses who allegedly purchased fraudulent degrees to bypass coursework and training required to sit for the National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX) passed the test. Many of the 7,600 individuals who paid between $10,000 and $15,000 for…

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Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on January 30 identified the recall by Medtronic of its Mahurkar Acute Dual Lumen High Flow (13.5 French) Hemodialysis Catheters (Mahurkar QPlus) as Class I, the most serious. The recall was initiated because of a potential catheter hub defect that may cause…

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Editor's Note Inaccurately recording anesthesia start times is common and results in significant lost billing time for anesthesia practices and medical centers, finds a study presented January 26 at the American Society of Anesthesiologists’ ADVANCE 2023, in Orlando, Florida. The researchers, from Northwestern University McGaw Medical Center in Chicago, analyzed…

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Editor's Note The Biden administration announced on January 30 that it will end the COVID-19 national and public health emergencies on May 11, the January 31 APnews reports. The move gives healthcare providers and other stakeholders about 100 days to prepare for the termination. The national and public health emergencies…

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Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on January 27 announced that it is proposing to ease blood donation restrictions by focusing on behavior rather than gender and sexual identity. Under current rules, the FDA allows donations from gay and bisexual men if they haven’t had sex with another…

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Editor's Note This study led by researchers from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, finds that characteristics of patients’ neighborhoods and hospitals where they received treatment were both associated with postoperative mortality. This analysis included 1,898,829 Medicare beneficiaries from all neighborhood types undergoing one of five common surgical procedures in…

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