Becoming more sensitive to knee pain increases risk of persistent pain
Editor's Note Becoming more sensitive to pain (ie, pain sensitization) is an important risk factor for developing persistent knee pain in osteoarthritis, this study finds. Researchers followed 852 patients over 2 years who had or were at risk of knee osteoarthritis but were free of persistent pain at the beginning…
CDC reports decline in hospital infections
Editor's Note The Centers for Disease Control and infection (CDC) on October 31 reported that the risk of hospital patients having healthcare-associated infections was 16% lower in 2015 than in 2011, largely because of declines in surgical site and urinary tract infections. The percentage of patients having surgical site and…
Minimally invasive surgery for early-stage cervical cancer linked to worse survival
Editor's Note In this study, minimally invasive radical hysterectomy was associated with worse overall survival and higher recurrence rates than open abdominal radical hysterectomy for women with early-stage IA or IB cervical cancer. Of 631 patients analyzed: Minimally invasive surgery was associated with a three-fold increase in disease progression. The…
ACS NSQIP recognizes 83 hospitals for “Meritorious” surgical outcomes
Editor's Note The American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (ACS NSQIP) on October 31 recognized 83 hospitals for achieving “Meritorious” outcomes for surgical patient care in 2017; 568 hospitals were eligible. ACS NSQIP-participating hospitals are required to track outcomes of inpatient and outpatient surgical outcomes and analyze…
Identifying SSIs using electronic health record data
Editor's Note In this study, researchers developed an algorithm model that accurately identified surgical site infections (SSIs) using independent variables from electronic health record data and outcomes from the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (ACS NSQIP). Researchers fit 3 models to data from patients having surgery at the…
ECRI Institute announces new white paper on top value analysis challenges
Editor's Note ECRI Institute on October 30 announced a new white paper--Value Analysis: Addressing Top Challenges by Using the PICOTS Framework--which presents findings from national seminars on the top five challenges value analysis professionals face daily. The challenges are: Antiquated workflow C-suite buy-in Accessibility to data Physician engagement Bandwidth. The…
HHS opens Health Sector Cybersecurity Coordination Center
Editor's Note The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) on October 29 opened the Health Sector Cybersecurity Coordination Center (HC3) at its headquarters in Washington DC. HC3 will play a vital role in early detection of cybersecurity attacks and coordination of information between the healthcare sector and the Department…
Effect of prehabilitation program on abdominal surgery patients
Editor's Note Colectomy patients participating in a preoperative prehabilitation program had positive physiologic effects and experienced fewer complications, this study finds. The prehabilitation program−Michigan Surgical and Health Optimization Program (MSHOP)−engages patients in four activities before surgery: Physical activity, pulmonary rehabilitation, nutritional optimization, and stress reduction. For the study, patients were…
AAAHC launches 3-year Advanced Orthopaedic Certification program
Editor's Note The Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care (AAAHC) announced on October 25 that it has launched an Advanced Orthopaedic Certification program for ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) performing total joints and spine procedures. The 3-year certification program was designed by an expert panel of practicing orthopaedic and spine professionals…
FDA: Class I recall of CyPass Micro-Stent Systems
Editor's Note The Food & Drug Administration (FDA) on October 24 classified Alcon Research’s recall of its CyPass Micro-Stent Systems as Class I, the most serious. The recall was initiated because of the risk of corneal endothelial cell loss with the system, which is used in conjunction with cataract surgery…