Editor's Note The COVID-19 pandemic has caused a surge in antimicrobial resistance in US hospitals, reversing years of progress, according to a new analysis released July 12 by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). During the first year of the pandemic, antimicrobial-resistant infections and deaths increased in hospitals…

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Editor's Note The World Health Organization (WHO) announced on July 12 that it will hold an emergency meeting—the second emergency meeting convened—next week to determine the global health risk of monkeypox, CNBC July 12 reports. The organization decided not to declare monkeypox a global health emergency just last month, noted…

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Editor's Note In this study, researchers in New Zealand identify how post-viral fatigue syndromes, including Long COVID, become life-changing diseases and why patients have frequent relapses. Viral infections commonly result in Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, which causes brain-centered symptoms of neuroinflammation, brain fog, lack of refreshing sleep, and poor response…

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Editor's Note The American Hospital Association (AHA) will present this year’s Quest for Quality Prize to University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center (UH) on July 18 at the AHA Leadership Summit in San Diego. UH is receiving the award because of its data-driven quality and safety improvements and innovative strategies to…

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Editor's Note The US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced new guidance on July 11 to ascertain that “abortion is covered under the federal law requiring Medicare hospitals to provide all patients appropriate emergency care—including abortion care—regardless of state law,” Becker’s Hospital Review July 12 reports. The HHS…

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Editor's Note A female patient in Chicago, Illinois, filed a lawsuit on July 7 against the multinational UnitedHealth Group for alleged underpayment of telehealth services, Becker’s Payer Issues July 8 reports. The lawsuit claims that the woman’s insurance plan covers telehealth services, including pay benefits for-out-network services. After receiving out-of-network…

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Editor's Note This study led by researchers at the University of Washington, Seattle, finds that methylene blue with light (MBL) photochemical treatment can be used to decontaminate personal protective equipment (PPE) contaminated with COVID-19. MBL robustly and consistently inactivated three coronaviruses, including COVID-19, with 99.8% to >99.9% virus inactivation across…

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Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on July 6 identified the recall by Getinge USA Sales Inc of its Flow-c and Flow-e Anesthesia Systems as Class I, the most serious. The recall was initiated after reports of cracked or broken on/off switchs on the systems’ suction units. If…

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Editor's Note Scientists at UC San Diego and Scripps Research have developed tools to analyze wastewater that have proven effective in identifying emerging COVID-19 variants and predicting surges. COVID-19 patients shed the virus in their stool, whether they have symptoms or not. In the summer of 2020 the scientists began…

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Editor's Note Three cases of the newest Omicron subvariant BA.2.75 have been detected on the West Coast, two in California and one in Washington, the July 11 Becker’s Hospital Review reports. The subvariant is also in India and 10 other countries. The subvariant has a large number of mutations that…

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