Coronavirus disease officially named COVID-19 by WHO
Editor's Note The new Coronavirus disease from China has been given an official name by the World Health Organization, โCOVID-19,โ The February 11 NPR reports. COVI comes from coronavirus, the D stands for disease, and the 19 represents 2019, the year the virus was first identified. The name will apply…
Association between ERAS and postop complications after total hips and knees
Editor's Note Increased adherence to an Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) protocol after total hip arthroplasty (THA) and total knee arthroplasty (TKA) was associated with a decrease in postoperative complications in this study from Spain. However, only a few interventions were linked to decreased complications In this analysis of 6,146…
CDC updates PPE recommendations for COVID-19
Editor's Note The Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) on February 12 updated it personal protective equipment (PPE) recommendations for healthcare personnel. Who needs PPE? Patients with confirmed or possible COVID-19 infection should wear a facemask during medical evaluations. Healthcare personnel should adhere to standard, contact, and airborne precautions,…
Association of surgical jackets, bouffant head covers with SSIs
Editor's Note Long sleeved surgical jackets and bouffant head covers are neither beneficial nor cost-effective in preventing surgical site infections (SSIs), this study finds. A total of 34,042 inpatient surgical procedures performed at the University of Alabama at Birmingham Hospital were analyzed during three periods between January 2017 and October…
FDA: Coronavirus hasnโt led to drug, device shortages, but situation fluid
Editor's Note The Food & Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Stephen Hahn says there have been no drug or medical device shortages reported in the US so far amid the coronavirus outbreak, but the situation remains fluid, the February 7 Politico reports. The FDA has pulled its inspectors from China, and…
Whatโs driving Millennial, Gen Z nurses
Editor's Note A new HCA Healthcare survey finds that in the past 4 years Millennials and Gen Z nurses have gone from being the minority to now being the majority in the employee population, and their professional priorities and expectations differ from past generations, according to a February 11 report…
FDA authorizes marketing of first AI guided cardiac ultrasound
Editor's Note The Food & Drug Administration (FDA) on February 7 authorized marketing of software to assist in the acquisition of cardiac ultrasound images. The software, named โCaption Guidance,โ uses artificial intelligence (AI) to help capture images of a patientโs heart from different angles, which are used to diagnose various…
Association of LVAD vs IABP with mortality, bleeding
Editor's Note The use of an intravascular microaxial left ventricular assist device (LVAD) vs an intra-aortic balloon pump (IABP) in patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) complicated by cardiogenic shock was associated with worse in-hospital clinical outcomes in this study. Of 3,360 propensity-matched patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention for AMI,…
CDC updates guidance for healthcare personnel possibly exposed to the coronavirus
Editor's Note The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on February 8 updated its guidance for risk assessment and management of healthcare personnel possibly exposed in a healthcare setting to patients with the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV). The first confirmed transmission from person-to-person in the US was reported January 30,…
Aviation-style, large-screen computerized checklist operated by anesthesia provider improves performance
Editor's Note The implementation of an aviation-style computerized surgical safety checklist displayed on a large, centrally located screen and operated by the anesthesia provider improved checklist performance in this study. A total of 671 cases were observed before and 547 cases after implementation of the computerized checklist system. The proportion…