AVATS an option for lung cancer deemed inoperable
Editor's Note Awake video assisted thoracic surgery (AVATS) performed with local anesthesia and sedation allows for resection of lung cancers previously deemed inoperable because of a patient’s poor pulmonary function, finds this study presented May 23 at the American Thoracic Society International Conference in San Diego. For the study, 246…
Prevalence of regional anesthesia use in outpatient surgery
Editor's Note Though the overall frequency of peripheral nerve block use in outpatient surgery is low, regional anesthesia offers significant positive effects for postoperative outcomes and hospital efficiency metrics, this study finds. Of 12,911,056 outpatient surgical procedures in the National Anesthesia Clinical Outcomes Registry, 3,297,372 (25.5%) were amenable to a…
FDA: Class I recall of HeartMate 3TM Left Ventricular Assist System
Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration on May 22 identified the recall by Abbott of all lots of its HeartMate 3TM Left Ventricular Assist System as Class I, the most serious. The recall was issued because of a malfunction in the device’s outflow graft assembly that may cause the…
Study: Staying up all night disrupts blood protein levels
Editor's Note Working the night shift and sleeping during the day for just a few days can disrupt levels and time-of-day patterns of more than 100 proteins in the blood (ie, plasma proteomes), this study finds. Six healthy men volunteers in their 20s spent 6 days in the clinical translational…
ECRI Institute research helped guide FDA report on medical device servicing
Editor's Note The ECRI Institute on May 21 announced that it had provided conclusive research to help guide the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) new “FDA Report on the Quality, Safety, and Effectiveness of Servicing of Medical Devices.” The FDA report, which addresses concerns about the quality of service provided…
New formulation of bupivacaine does not reduce opioid use after TKA
Editor's Note Contrary to what some studies are suggesting, use of the local anesthetic liposomal bupivacaine as part of a multimodal approach to postoperative pain did not reduce in-hospital opioid use or opioid-related complications after total knee arthroplasty (TKA) in this study. Researchers analyzed data on 88,830 TKAs performed with…
FDA: Class I recall of Medtronic’s MindFrame Capture LP revascularization device
Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on May 18 identified the recall of Medtronic’s MindFrame Capture LP revascularization device as Class I, the most serious. Medtronic is recalling the device because there is a risk of the delivery wire breaking or separating during use. The clot retriever, which…
Statewide safety program sharply reduces colorectal SSIs
Editor's Note A Hawaii statewide collaborative for surgical patient safety successfully reduced colorectal surgical site infections (SSIs) and improved patient safety culture, finds this study. Between January 2013 and June 2015, Hawaii’s 15 hospitals implemented the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality’s (AHRQ’s) Comprehensive Unit-based Safety Program (CUSP) in addition…
ECRI Institute: Boston Medical Center wins 2018 Health Devices Achievement Award
Editor's Note The ECRI Institute on May 17 announced that Boston Medical Center had won the 2018 Health Devices Achievement Award for its patient-centric mobile pulmonary care app. The ICOUGH Recovery app guides patients through the hospitals postoperative pulmonary care protocol, which focuses on: Incentive spirometry Coughing and deep breathing…
Managing patient and family disruption in the perioperative setting--Part 1
Disruption in the perioperative setting occurs across a continuum ranging from verbal outbursts to physical violence. “We live in an increasingly violent society, and we need to take measures to educate and prepare nurses and other team members to be safe,” says Margo Halm, PhD, RN, NEA-BC, associate chief executive,…