COVID-19 trends offer hope the pandemic will end in 2023
Editor's Note Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data show 1,706 COVID-19 deaths for the week ending March 15, the lowest number since March 25, 2020, according to the March 20 US News & World Report. COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations also continue to drop, with weekly infections at their lowest…
Effectiveness of AI in detecting hip fractures, predicting postop outcomes
Editor's Note This Canadian meta-analysis finds that artificial intelligence (AI) has the potential to automate hip fracture diagnoses; however, complicated models may not provide benefit over traditional patient-specific postoperative outcomes predictions. Of 39 studies included in the analysis, 18 used AI models to diagnose hip fractures on plain radiographs and…
OR Manager Conference Keynote Announced: The Inspiration Nurse
Rockville, MD – March 21, 2023 – The Inspiration Nurse Donna Cardillo, MA, RN, CSP, FAAN, will speak at the 2023 OR Manager Conference this September in Nashville, Tennessee. The conference takes place at Music City Center from September 18-20, 2023. Cardillo will present Passionate Leadership – Soaring to New…
Some states considering caps on travel nurse pay
Editor's Note With the demand for travel nurses rising significantly during the COVID-19 pandemic, some states are proposing measures to control what staffing agencies can charge healthcare facilities that use the temporary staff, the March 17 Kaiser Health News reports. Among 11 states proposing regulations: Missouri is calling for felony…
FDA updates list of COVID-19 device shortages, discontinued devices
Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on March 16 updated its list of COVID-19 medical device shortages to reflect changes in estimated shortage durations during the public health emergency. These include: Radiological devices General plastic surgery devices Cardiac diagnostic and monitoring products General ICU/hospital products Specimen collection, testing…
Study: Frailty in women linked to working rotating shifts
Editor's Note This Canadian study finds an association between shift work and frailty among middle-aged and older workers, especially for women on rotating shifts. The researchers looked at 52 factors that can likely lower lifespan. Mildly frail individuals have at least 5 factors, and very frail individuals have at least…
HHS: COVID-19 product EUAs remain in effect
Editor's Note Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra on March 15 amended the February 4, 2020, COVID-19 emergency use authorizations for: diagnostics for detection and/or diagnosis of COVID-19 personal respiratory protective equipment other medical devices including alternative products used as medical devices drug and biological products. These emergency…
FDA: Class I recall of certain Datascope/Getinge IABPs
Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on March 17 identified the recall by Datascope/Getinge of certain Cardiosave Hybrid and Rescue Intra-Aortic Balloon Pumps (IABPs) as Class I, the most serious. The recall was initiated because the coiled cable connecting the display and base on some units may fail,…
WHO: Healthcare worker shortage an ongoing, global concern
Editor's Note The World Health Organization (WHO) on March 14 released an updated WHO health workforce support and safeguards list for 2023, which identifies 55 countries as vulnerable of not having the availability of healthcare workers required to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goal target for universal health coverage (UHC)…
How benchmarking data informs leading practices: Part 1
Takeaways Leading practice is innovative, people-centered, and evidence-informed and can encompass best practices and benchmarking data. This article includes survey data on flip rooms, scheduling, preference cards, first case on-time start, and sterile processing department. The total number of respondents for Part 1 of the survey was 142, the majority…