Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on January 2 classified the recall by Sterilmed (Plymouth, Minnesota) of its Agilis Steerable Reprocessed Introducer Sheath as Class I, the most serious. The sheath's hemostatic valve, which prevents blood from flowing back through the valve, may fail because of an improper…

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Editor's Note The prevalence of work-related musculoskeletal disorders in surgeons and interventionalists is high, this meta-analysis finds. Of 5,828 physicians, there was: degenerative cervical spine disease in 17% rotator cuff pathology in 18% degenerative lumbar spine disease in 19% carpal tunnel syndrome in 9%. From 1997 to 2015, the prevalence…

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Editor's Note The Joint Commission on December 20, 2017, posted new and revised standards that go into effect in January 2018. Included are: Life Safety Code revisions that address topics such as testing of emergency lighting systems and inspection and testing of piped medical gas and vacuum systems. Medication Management…

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Editor's Note The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced December 21 that it updated data on its Hospital Compare website and will update the Overall Hospital Quality Star Rating using a new methodology that will give more hospitals one or five stars. CMS had postponed the release of…

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Editor's Note Wearing long sleeves with gloves while prepping a patient in the OR decreased large-particle and microbial shedding compared with prepping with bare arms, in this study. A mock patient skin prep was performed in 3 different ORs. A long-sleeved gown and gloves or bare arms were used to…

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Editor's Note The Joint Commission on December 12 posted its summary of changes to accreditation and certification decision rules for all programs for 2018. Changes include initial accreditation, reaccreditation, and certification. The decision rules are effective for surveys and reviews beginning January 1, 2018.   Joint Commission requirement. Read More…

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Editor's Note Perioperative myocardial injury (PMI) is a common complication after noncardiac surgery (occurring in 1 of 7 patients), and it is associated with substantial short- and long-term mortality (9% and 22%), this study finds. This analysis included 2,018 patients having 2,546 surgical procedures. PMI occurred after 397 of the…

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Editor's Note ECRI Institute on December 12 issued its list of Top 10 Health Technology Hazards for 2018. The list, which is available for free (registration required), identifies sources of technology dangers or difficulties and details steps to minimize the occurrence of adverse events. Topping the list is ransomware and…

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Editor's Note Hospitals with the largest reductions in serious complications after bariatric surgery had the greatest decrease in per-patient Medicare payments, this study finds. Analyzing 37,329 Medicare patients undergoing bariatric surgery from 2005 to 2006 and 2013 to 2014, researchers found a strong association between reductions in complications and decreased…

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Editor's Note Under a bill approved unanimously December 5 by the Florida Senate Health Policy Committee, ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) could treat patients overnight, the December 6 WUSF News reports. Before approving the bill (SB 250), sponsored by Sen Greg Steube (R-Sarasota), the committee agreed to an amendment requiring the…

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