Editor's Note A research report by Marketsandmarkets predicts the global hybrid OR market will reach nearly $1.2 billion by 2022, at a 12.5% annualized growth rate, according to the August 14 HealthCareBusiness daily news. The specialty with the highest growth rate will be thoracic surgery. The biggest driver of hybrid…

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Editor's Note When colorectal surgical patients, who were given a single dose of antibiotic before surgery and re-dosing if the procedure lasted longer, were compared to patients given additional antibiotics for 24 hours postoperatively, infection rates were identical, this study finds. A total of 965 patients were included in this…

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Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on August 10 issued a Safety Alert to update healthcare providers on five reports of unanticipated deaths that have occurred from 2016 to the present in patients with liquid-filled intragastric balloon systems used to treat obesity. Four reports involve the Orbera Intragastric…

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Editor's Note In this study, patients diagnosed on the day of surgery as moderate to high risk for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) had similar rates of adverse respiratory events (ie, perioperative hypoxemia and difficult airway management) as patients who had been diagnosed with OSA previously. However, those diagnosed with OSA…

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Editor's Note The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program has only seen a drop in readmissions by 0.1% from 2013 to mid-2016, which has industry experts and hospital leaders questioning its purpose, the August 12 Modern Healthcare reports. The Affordable Care Act mandated program, which…

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Editor's Note Adding cognitive assessment to frailty assessment predicted poor postoperative outcomes and survival in frail patients better than either measurement alone, this study finds. The study included 330 patients having major surgery who were assessed with a four-level composite frailty scoring system, which was created by combining the Fried…

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Editor's Note With the growth of ambulatory surgeries and the shift to Medicare reimbursement for outpatient hip and knee replacements, hospitals are acquiring and forming joint ventures with ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs), the August 5 Modern Healthcare reports. This allows hospitals to keep part of the revenue and better aligns…

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Editor's Note After cardiac surgery, obese patients required significantly more ICU resources and longer recovery times, resulting in more expensive, labor-intensive care, this study finds. Of 5,365 patients included in the analysis, 1,948 were classified as obese. Patients with greater obesity were: four times more likely to have longer time…

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Editor's Note Cybersecurity experts are warning that Ransomware 2.0 is coming, and healthcare needs to be prepared, the August 8 Healthcare IT News reports. Ransomware 2.0 combines ransomware with a worm, which allows it to move laterally or across internal and external networks. Because the next wave of attacks will…

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Editor's Note Researchers have released a surgical technical evidence review for colorectal surgery (published online August 7 in the Journal of the American College of Surgeons) as the first step in the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality’s Safety Program for Improving Surgical Care and Recovery, a nationwide program to…

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