Joint Commission: Minimum thrombectomy requirements added for CSC eligibility
Editor's Note The Joint Commission announced on May 2 that beginning January 1, 2019, it will start applying minimum mechanical thrombectomy volume requirements to the Comprehensive Stroke Center (CSC) certification program. Organizations applying for certification will have to meet the new volume requirements in addition to previous volume requirements, such…
National Nurses Week is May 6-12
Editor's Note National Nurses Week begins each year on May 6 and ends on May 12, Florence Nightingaleโs birthday. National Nurses Week is celebrated annually to raise awareness of the important role nurses play in society. This yearโs theme is โNurses Inspire, Innovate, Influence.โ The American Nurses Association has a…
New communication bundle reduces unplanned ICU admissions
Editor's Note Unplanned admissions of medical-surgical patients to intensive care units (ICUs) dropped after a New Hampshire Medical Center implemented a new early warning score communication bundle, this study finds. The hospital embedded a seven-item modified early-warning score system into the electronic medical record (EMR) for patients in its four…
Allowing overlapping surgery for urgent neuro cases decreases length of stay
Editor's Note A change of policy to allow the practice of overlapping surgery for urgent neurosurgical procedures in a tertiary care, safety-net hospital significantly reduced length of stay, in this study presented May 1 at the American Association of Neurological Surgeons in New Orleans. Of 452 cases analyzed (201 in…
Washington nurse suspected of infecting two patients with hepatitis C
Editor's Note An emergency department (ED) nurse at MultiCare Good Samaritan Hospital in Puyallup, Washington, who was suspected of stealing injectable drugs and infecting at least two patients with hepatitis C, has now contracted the disease herself, the May 1 News Tribune reports. The linkage between the nurse and the…
Health literacy linked to postop recovery in outpatients
Editor's Note Inadequate functional health literacy (FHL) in ambulatory surgery patients was associated with poorer postoperative recovery and a lower quality of life in this study. Of 704 patients undergoing ambulatory surgery who were surveyed, 427 (60.7%) reported sufficient FHL, 223 (31.7%) said problematic FHL, and 54 (7.7%) had inadequate…
Release of 2019 ICD-10 codes expected soon
Editor's Note The first look at possible new ICD-10 codes is expected in early May, and anxiety is building, according to the April 24 ICD10monitor. The comment period has passed for providing feedback on the ICD-10-PCS (inpatient procedure coding) codes, and comments for the ICD-10-CM (diagnosis coding) proposals are not…
MRSA more transmissible in OR than methicillin-sensitive S aureus
Editor's Note In this study, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) had a greater risk of transmission in the OR than methicillin-sensitive S aureus. Researchers collected 173 S aureus isolates from 274 randomly selected ORs (first and second cases of the day in each OR) at three hospitals. The isolates underwent systematic-phenotypic…
Type 2 diabetes linked to hip fracture risk
Editor's Note A statistically significant association was found between type 2 diabetes and the risk of hip fracture in this study. Researchers analyzed 158,984 patients with and without diabetes. The incidence of hip fracture in diabetics was 2.3% using the competing risk with death methodology (Fine-Gray models) and 2.6% using…
First penis transplantation completed in the US
Editor's Note Surgeons at the Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, completed the first successful penis transplantation in the US in a patient who had a subtotal penectomy for penile cancer. Operative reinterventions were needed on postoperative days 2 and 3 for hematoma evacuation and skin eschar debridement. At 3 weeks, no…