Editor's Note The ECRI Institute on January 22 announced the released its annual “Top 10 Hospital C-suite Watch List." Among the new and emerging innovations to watch are: Acuity-adaptable rooms, where hospitals keep a patient in the same room from admission to discharge, regardless of acuity level. Insertable cardiac monitors…

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  Editor's Note The Food & Drug Administration (FDA) on January 23 announced the expansion by Baxter (Deerfield, Illinois) of its recall of Nexterone (amiodarone HCL) 150 mg/100 mL premixed injection to include a second lot (NC 109123). Lot NC 109925 was recalled in November 2017. The recall was initiated…

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Editor's Note A new smartphone app called “WoundCare” is successfully letting patients send images of their surgical wounds to nurses for monitoring, this study finds. The goal of the app, developed by researchers from the Wisconsin Institute of Surgical Outcomes Research, University of Wisconsin, Madison, is earlier detection of surgical…

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Editor's Note The Society of Thoracic Surgeons, Society of Cardiovascular Anesthesiologists, and the American Society of ExtraCorporeal Technology on January 19 announced the release of new clinical practice guidelines on the use of anticoagulants during cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB). Among the guideline recommendations are: optimal heparin dosing for initiation and maintenance…

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Editor's Note The ECRI Institute on January 19 announced the release of a special Health Devices guidance article featuring recommendations and alternative solutions for dealing with the IV-fluid minibag (50-250 mL) shortage that resulted form Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico. The guidance provides a functional equivalence chart for IV solution…

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Editor's Note Though needlestick injuries and exposure to bloodborne pathogens continue to be significant hazards for surgeons and nurses, concern about risk is declining, and the true conversion risk is underestimated, this study finds. A survey was distributed to 358 medical students and 247 department of surgery staff at an…

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Editor's Note The Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA) on January 11 released new expert guidance on contact precautions for patients with multidrug-resistant bacterial infections. The guidance advises hospitals on when they can safely discontinue contact precautions, including use of gowns, gloves, and masks. In most cases, this ranges…

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Editor's Note Surgeon volume of adult general surgical procedures was significantly associated with lower morbidity and costs after pediatric laparoscopic cholecystectomy in this study. Of 3,519 laparoscopic cholecystectomies performed in pediatric patients, the overall morbidity rate was 3.9%. High-volume general surgeons had an odds of all-cause morbidity that was 68%…

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Editor's Note Joint Commission Resources on January 17 released the 2018 Hospital Compliance Assessment Checklist, a self-assessment workbook designed to help organizations with standards compliance and survey readiness. In addition to hospital standards and elements of performance (EP), this year’s Checklist includes: High-level prompts to promote staff discussion and cultivate…

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Editor's Note Patients’ satisfaction with hospital care is strongly associated with missed nursing care, which is related to poor nurse staffing and poor work environments, finds this study led by Linda H. Aiken, PhD, RN, director of the Center for Health Outcomes and Policy Research at the University of Pennsylvania…

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