New tool predicts ICU readmission for surgical patients
Editor's Note Researchers from the University of Utah School of Medicine, Salt Lake City, have developed a risk prediction tool, called a โnomogram,โ that uses a scoring system to determine a patientโs risk for returning to the surgical ICU within 72 hours after discharge. The study was presented October 20…
FDA: Medtronic recalls certain neurovascular products
Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on October 18 announced the recall by Medtronic of certain lots of its Pipeline embolization device, Alligator retrieval device, and X-Celerator hydrophilic guidewire. The recall also includes the stylet containing UltraFlow flow directed micro catheters and Marathon flow directed micro catheters. The…
Status of surgery mentorship programs in the US
Editor's Note Only half of departments of surgery in the US have established mentorship programs, and most are informal, unstructured, and do not involve all of the key stakeholders, this study finds. Of 155 chairs of departments of surgery surveyed 76 responded, for a 49% response rate. A total of…
Joint Commission awards first Advanced Certification for Total Hip and Total Knee Replacement
Editor's Note The Joint Commission on October 18 announced that Ohio Specialty Surgical Suites in North Canton, Ohio, is the first ambulatory surgical center to achieve its Advanced Certification for Total Hip and Total Knee Replacement. The advanced certification focuses on: The continuum of care through all phases of the…
Fitness tracker monitors postop recovery
Editor's Note Monitoring patientsโ postoperative functional recovery using a commercially available, wireless activity tracker is feasible and strongly correlates with complications reported by patients, finds a study presented October 17 at the 2016 Clinical Congress of the American College of Surgeons. The median number of steps that patients took on…
FDA: Class I recall of Skintact DF29N Multi-function Defibrillation Electrodes
Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on October 14 categorized the recall by Leonhard Lang of its Skintact DF29N Multi-function Defibrillation Electrodes as Class I, the most serious. The electrode is being recalled because of a connector compatibility issue with the Welch Allyn automatic external defibrillator (AED), model…
Diagnosing SSIs with photography
Editor's Note The addition of patient-generated wound photographs to existing data significantly improved diagnostic accuracy of surgical site infections (SSIs) and prevented overtreatment in this study. When photographs were added, overall diagnostic accuracy improved from 67% to 76%, and specificity increased from 77% to 92%, but sensitivity did not significantly…
GAO calls for better alignment of quality measures
Editor's Note In an October 13 report, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) called for the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to set priorities in its effort to better align healthcare quality measures across payers and programs, and to make them truly meaningful, according to the October 14 FierceHealthcare.…
CMS publishes final MACRA rule
Editor's Note The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) on October 14 issued a final rule with comment period for implementing provisions of the new physician payment system required by the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 (MACRA), according to the October 14 Modern Healthcare. The rule…
FDA, CDC issue alerts on Stำงckert 3T Heater-Cooler System
Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on October 13 updated its Safety Alert on the Stำงckert 3T Heater-Cooler System by LivaNova to provide new information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) about Mycobacterium chimaera infections associated with the use of the system in US patients…