Editor's Note Nerve blocks in total knee patients were associated with statistically significant reductions in length of stay and readmissions, but no difference in emergency department visits or in-hospital falls, this Canadian study finds. In the analysis of 178,214 patients, adjusted: mean hospital stay was 4.7 days for patients with…
Editor's Note In its process for issuing a new recommendation on screening for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) in asymptomatic adults or adults with unrecognized symptoms, the US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) found insufficient evidence on screening for or treatment of OSA. The USPSTF concluded that the current evidence is…
Editor's Note Children having tonsillectomies to improve the number of sore throats and throat infections, associated clinic visits, and days of school missed had improved outcomes in the first year after surgery compared with children not having surgery, but these benefits did not persist over time, this study finds. For…
Editor's Note Despite the Affordable Care Act, which was designed to improve access to care for patients without insurance, patients without insurance have lower use of high-quality hospitals, this study finds. The probability of admission to high-quality hospitals was similar for patients with Medicaid (23.3%) and private insurance (23.0%), but…
Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on January 25 announced the recall by Hospira, Inc (Lake Forest, Illinois) of one lot of Vancomycin Hydrochloride for Injection, (USP (NDC: 0409-6510-01, Lot 591053A, Expiry Date 1NOV2017). The recall was initiated because of a confirmed customer report of the presence of…
Editor's Note Advances in diagnostic imaging technology have resulted in more trauma patients being diagnosed with blunt cerebrovascular injuries, which has resulted in a significant decline in stroke and mortality, this study finds. From 1985 to the end of 2015, the percentage of blunt trauma patients diagnosed with blunt cerebrovascular…
Editor's Note Three out of four surgery patients may be receiving anticoagulants they don’t need, the January 23 EurekAlert reports. Researchers reviewed 14,776 records from 13 studies to determine which surgical patients would and would not benefit from anticoagulants. High-risk patients who were given anticoagulants had a significantly decreased risk…
Editor's Note New Massachusetts (Mass) state regulations approved January 11 allow freestanding ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) to apply for permission to expand or offer new lines of procedures without being affiliated with an acute care hospital, the January 19 Enterprise News reports. The new regulations lift a 20-year moratorium on…
Editor's Note In this study of flexible gastrointestinal (GI) endoscopes, none demonstrated clinically relevant contamination at hang times ranging from 7 to 555 days, and most remained uncontaminated up to 56 days after reprocessing. The data suggest that properly cleaned and disinfected GI endoscopes could be stored safely for longer…
Editor's Note In this meta-analysis and trial sequential analysis, triclosan-coated sutures were shown to be effective in preventing surgical site infections (SSIs). A total of 21 randomized clinical trials, involving 6,462 patients, were included. The meta-analysis found a risk of 138 SSIs per 1,000 procedures, and the use of triclosan-coated…
