Editor's Note The Women’s Choice Award announced on October 1 the Best Children’s Hospitals for 2019. The select group were chosen from nearly 60 Children’s Hospitals in the nation and represent those that have met the highest standards for childcare. Award winners include: Children’s Hospital & Medical Center, Omaha Connecticut…

Read More

Editor's Note Major clinical comorbidities increased substantially in patients after elective arthroscopic hip surgery in this study by Duke researchers. These comorbidities have been overlooked in the past by major studies evaluating the procedure’s benefits and risks, the researchers say. In this analysis of 1,870 patients (mean age 32) in…

Read More

Editor's Note The ECRI Institute on October 1 released its 2019 Top 10 Health Technology Hazards. Among the hazards: First is cybersecurity attacks Second is blood and body fluids on mattresses after cleaning Third is retained sponges Fifth is mishandling flexible endoscopes after disinfection Ninth is cleaning fluid seeping into…

Read More

Editor's Note In this study, a novel test method with a robotic arm was used to investigate the effect of movement, exposure type, exposure duration, procedure duration, and existence of pressure on the amount of fluid leakage at the glove-gown interface. Results show that with the exception of procedure duration,…

Read More

Editor's Note The Joint Commission on September 26 announced a collaboration with the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) that will incorporate AAOS’ clinical expertise into development of  standards and performance measurement requirements for the Joint Commission's Total Hip and Knee Replacement (THKR) Certification. The Joint Commission and AAOS will…

Read More

Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on September 27 announced the recall by Oscor Inc (Palm Harbor, Florida) of its TB-Temporary Bipolar Pacing Leads, with 2 mm unshrouded connectors. The recall was initiated because the connector cap housing may slide and expose the connection wire. This may cause…

Read More

Editor's Note A significant decrease in bacterial bioburden on the instrument table was found when the table was covered during static periods of nonuse and dynamic periods of active OR use in this study. Bacterial contamination of the instrument table was evaluated by settle plates in static and dynamic ORs,…

Read More

Editor's Note The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), on orders from Congress, is easing its annual readmission penalties on hospitals servicing low-income residents, the September 26 Kaiser Health News reports. The penalties are part of the Affordable Care Act’s effort to encourage better care. The sanctions have been…

Read More

Editor's Note The Joint Commission on September 26 released its sentinel event statistics for the first half of 2018. Of the top 10 most frequently reported events, falls were first at 65 events, unintended retention of a foreign body was second at 61 events, wrong-site surgery was fourth at 45…

Read More

Editor's Note Patients who receive care in for-profit hospitals are more likely to be readmitted than patients in nonprofit public hospitals, this study finds. Using data from 14,307 hospital reports from the national Hospital Readmission Reduction Program for six major diseases, including coronary artery bypass grafting and total hip and…

Read More