Johns Hopkins allowing animal-assisted therapy in ICU
Editor's Note Bringing specially trained dogs into ICUs can safely and substantially ease patients' physical and emotional pain, according to Johns Hopkins researchers. Having seen how successful animal-assisted therapy was in the inpatient rehabilitation unit at Johns Hopkins, the researchers adapted the hospitalโs protocol to safely bring dogs to ICU…
FDA: Class I recall of HeartStart MRx Defibrillator
Editor's Note The Food & Drug Administration (FDA) on February 9 classified the recall by Philips Electronics (Andover, Massachusetts) of its HeartStart MRx Defibrillator as Class I, the most serious. The recall was initiated because of micro cracks in the gas discharge tube that allow internal gasses to escape and…
ACS NSQIP study defines cardiac risk factors of common surgical procedures
Editor's Note This analysis of 3 million elective surgical procedures in the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (ACS NSQIP) found a broad range of procedure-specific intrinsic cardiac adverse event risks associated with 200 commonly performed procedures. A total of 66 low, 30 intermediate, and 106 high…
Budget deal includes big changes for healthcare
Editor's Note The US Congress on February 9 passed a budget deal that will have a significant impact across nearly every sector of the healthcare industry, the March 9 Business Insider reports. Among the initiatives are: $2 billion for the National Institutes of Health $6 billion to combat the opioid…
Association of injury location to mortality
Editor's Note Injury scene characteristics are linked to mortality, with odds of death highest for those injured in communities with higher median age or lower per capita income, and located farther from level 1 or 2 trauma centers, this study finds. This study of 16,082 patients found the odds of…
FDA: New imaging technology promises stable supply of imaging isotope
Editor's Note The Food & Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner, Scott Gottlieb, MD, on February 8 announced the role the FDA played in the groundbreaking effort to develop a new imaging technologyโthe RadioGenix System. The technology, which resulted from a collaboration across the federal government and industry, has the potential to…
Testing reprocessing procedures with PCR based method
Editor's Note A real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) sampling method for monitoring reprocessing of colonoscopes was successfully applied in this multicenter Italian study. PCR allowed identification of contaminated (59) and fully reprocessed (52) colonoscopes in 10 endoscopy units with high sensibility (98 %) and specificity (98%), within 3 to 4…
Exams scheduled for new ASC infection preventionist credential
Editor's Note The first exams have been scheduled for the recently launched new credential for infection preventionists in the ambulatory surgery center (ASC) settingโCertified Ambulatory Infection Preventionist (CAIP). The exam will be online at a testing center October 1-31, 2018. Electronic application must be submitted between August 1 and 31.…
Joint Commission seeking comments on credentialing, privileging standards
Editor's Note The Joint Commission on February 7 announced that it is seeking comments on proposed revisions to its credentialing and privileging standards for contract services inย Hospital, Critical Access Hospital, Ambulatory Health Care, Office-based Surgery, Nursing Care Center, and Behavioral Health Care accreditation programs. The revisions clarify or consolidate existing…
Short-term weight loss before bariatric surgery linked to better outcomes
Editor's Note Patients who lose some weight before bariatric surgery achieve greater weight loss after surgery, and they have shorter procedures and hospital stays, this study finds. Those (224 patients) who lost 8% of their excess weight by following a 1,200 calorie diet for 4 weeks before their surgeries had…