Class I recall of Beacon Tip angiographic catheters by Cook Medical
Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration on August 7 labeled the recall of Beacon Tip angiographic catheters by Cook Medical as Class I, the most serious. The catheter tip may split or separate from the catheter and enter the patient’s bloodstream. Cook Medical has received 26 reports of the…
Preop questionnaire identifies children at risk for sleep-disordered breathing
Editor's Note Implementation of a pediatric screening questionnaire (Snoring, Trouble Breathing, Un-Refreshed [STBUR]) helped anesthesia professionals identify children with symptoms of sleep-disordered breathing before undergoing general anesthesia, in this study. The likelihood of developing a perioperative respiratory adverse event increased three-fold when three of the five questions were answered yes…
Variation in surgical readmissions mostly patient related
Editor's Note Postoperative readmissions occurred in more than 1 in 10 patients, in this study, with considerable variation across specialties. The majority of variation was attributable to patient-related factors (82.8%); surgical specialty accounted for 14.5% of the variability, and individual surgeon factors accounted for 2.8%. After adjusting for patient and…
Effect of professional guidelines on preop testing
Editor's Note The release of 2002 guidelines on preoperative testing by the American Society of Anesthesiologists, American College of Cardiology, and American Heart Association was associated with a reduction in routine ECG testing but not of x-rays, hematocrit, urinalysis, or cardiac stress testing, in this study. Because routine preoperative testing…
FDA labels recall of Medtronic’s heart valve loading system Class I
Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration on August 5 categorized the recall of 6,912 units of Medtronic Cardiovascular Surgery’s EnVeo R loading system as Class I, the most serious. The loading system is used with the CoreValve Evolut R replacement heart valve. The recall was issued over concerns about…
US Senate passes Electronic Health Fairness Act
Editor's Note The US Senate on August 5 passed the Electronic Health Fairness Act of 2015 (S 1347), which was heavily promoted by the Ambulatory Surgery Center Association. The legislation protects physicians practicing in ASCs from Medicare meaningful use penalties until a certified electronic health record technology is available for…
Joint Commission updates ASC accreditation survey guide
Editor's Note The Joint Commission has updated its “Ambulatory Care Accreditation Survey Activity Guide for Health Care Organizations,” and has made it available on the Joint Commission Connect extranet site. Among the updates: Survey document list: A new item has been added requesting identification of all locations where high-level disinfection…
Study: GI endoscopes remain contaminated after reprocessing
Editor's Note Despite reprocessing in accordance with US guidelines, viable microbes and residual contamination persisted on gastrointestinal endoscopes after each reprocessing step, in this study, suggesting current guidelines are not sufficient to ensure successful decontamination. Investigators observed all reprocessing activities, using a checklist to ensure that protocols were performed in…
FDA: Serious adverse events associated with LVADs
Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration on August 5 issued a Safety Communication on serious adverse events linked to left ventricular assist devices (LVADs). Two implantable LVADs are approved by the FDA (HeartMate II by Thoratec Corporation and HeartWare HVAD by HeartWare Inc), and serious events have been associated…
Role of smartphones in the OR
Editor's Note Like healthcare facilities across the country, those in Oregon are struggling with the growing problem of smartphones in the OR. This article and audio includes interviews OR personnel, residents, medical students, managers, administrators, and patient safety regulators on the issue of smartphones in the OR. The executive director…
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