Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration (FDA), on July 13, identified the recall by Draeger Medical of its Oxylog 3000 Plus Emergency and Transport Ventilators as Class I, the most serious. The recall was initiated because of reports that the ventilator may not automatically switch back to using AC…

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Editor's Note This study from the Falls Church, Virginia-based Inova Health System finds that an alternative work schedule improved work-life balance, productivity, and morale of its infection preventionists (IPs). With the surges and threats of emerging infectious diseases, the Inova Health System was dealing with a shortage of IPs and…

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Editor's Note The Joint Commission, on July 12, announced that it and the American Heart Association (AHA) have revised requirements for the Advanced Certification in Heart Failure program to align with the latest clinical practice guidelines for heart failure, effective January 1, 2024. Requirements for interdisciplinary team members have been…

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Editor's Note This study, led by researchers at Boston Children’s Hospital and the American College of Surgeons, finds that a small number of surgical procedures account for a disproportionate number of surgical site infections (SSIs) in elective pediatric surgery. This multicenter analysis included SSI data from 90 hospitals and 11,689…

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Editor's Note A global study led by researchers at the Royal College of Surgeons in Dublin, Ireland, finds older male patients are at greater risk of developing postoperative urinary retention (POUR) following elective inguinal hernia repair. The cohort study included 4,151 patients (3882 male and 269 female) recruited between March…

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Editor's Note The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) published a new toolkit geared toward helping to improve complications and enhance patient recovery after surgical procedures, AHRQ News Now June 27 reports. The new toolkit, titled Toolkit for Improving Surgical Care and Recovery, "addresses common surgical complications such as surgical…

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Editor's Note This Australian study finds an association between psychosocial interventions to improve well-being and reduced healthcare use. A total of 41 studies and 7,842 participants were included in the systematic review and meta-analysis. Among the findings: An improvement in healthcare use was associated with social support interventions, but not…

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Editor's Note This multi-center study led by Humana Inc, Louisville, Kentucky, finds that a bundled payment program offered by a Medicare Advantage insurer for lower extremity joint replacements was associated with reduced spending without changes in quality. A total of 23,034 lower extremity joint replacement surgical episodes (6,355 bundled, 16,679…

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Editor's Note The Association for Professionals in Infection Control (APIC), on June 26, announced the creation of the APIC Health Equity Fund, which will help underwrite the cost of infection prevention and control (IPC) tools and resources for underserved communities in the US. For the first 3 years, the fund…

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Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration (FDA), on June 26, identified the recall by Teleflex, and their subsidiary Arrow International, of the Arrow Endurance Extended Dwell Peripheral Catheter System as Class I, the most serious. The recall was initiated because of the risk of catheter separation and leakage. If…

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