Editor's Note This study led by researchers at the VA Puget Sound Health Care System and University of Washington, Seattle, highlights the complexity of diagnosing long COVID and the challenges of caring for patients with this condition. Included in the analysis were 200 randomly sampled COVID-19 patients receiving care in…
Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on November 1 identified the recall of Teleflex’s Iso-Gard Filter S as Class I, the most serious. Iso-Gard filters are breathing circuit bacterial filters that are connected to respiratory equipment or breathing systems in operating rooms and ICUs. The recall was initiated…
Editor's Note There is scarce information currently available about perioperative industry averages and OR operations best practices. OR Manager, as the leading source where perioperative managers and directors go to find answers to current problems, is leading the effort to pool information for both inpatient and outpatient facilities in 7…
Editor's Note This study from the University of California San Francisco finds that pediatric patients with risk factors for respiratory complications had a greater incidence of adverse events under general anesthesia during periods of unhealthy air quality caused by wildfire smoke. A total of 625 pediatric patients were included in…
Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on October 31 issued a Medical Device Safety Communication on tracheostomy tube shortages. Included in the shortages are Bivona tracheostomy tubes manufactured by ICU Medical, which are more likely to affect pediatric patients. Also on the shortage list are JOH Tube Tracheostomy…
Editor's Note This experimental study, led by researchers at the University of Washington, Seattle, finds that chlorhexidine gluconate (CHG) is the most effective irrigation solution for use as part of the surgical treatment of bone tumors. Cultures of two types of bone tumors (giant cell and chondrosarcoma) were treated with…
Editor's Note As of November 1, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) listed 26 amoxicillin products on its current drug shortages site. The FDA says increased demand is the largest cause of the shortage. The FDA does not list resupply dates, but the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) estimates…
Editor's Note The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), through the Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program, evaluated more than 2 years of readmission cases for Medicare patients and penalized 2,273 hospitals, Kaiser Health News November 1 reports. This is the lowest number of penalties since 2014. The Hospital Readmissions Reduction…
Editor's Note Massachusetts General Hospital (Mass Gen) in Boston this summer saw an “unprecedented” surge in demand for mental healthcare services, culminating in a “staggering 880 people on its waitlist for psychiatric services,” The Washington Post October 29 reports. According to the article, Mass Gen had to issue a letter…
Editor's Note JAMA Network published a research article on October 27 showing the long-term effects of COVID-19 on adults in the US and evaluating vaccine effectiveness for lasting symptoms, Health Leaders Media October 28 reports. The World Health Organization defines symptoms that last for at least 2 months post-infection as…