Editor's Note ECRI and the Institute for Safe Medication Practices (ISMP) announced September 14 that they are joining the World Health Organization and healthcare leaders around the world in celebrating World Patient Safety Day on September 17, 2022. The slogan for this year’s campaign is “Medication without Harm.” In support…

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Editor's Note In this survey of surgical, internal medicine, emergency medicine, and psychiatry residents by researchers from Florida Atlantic University’s Schmidt College of Medicine, Boca Rotan, residents reported having effective coping strategies during the early phase of the COVID-19 pandemic. A total of 59 residents completed the survey. Results showed…

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Editor's Note The recently revised “Guideline for Processing Flexible Endoscopes” recommends that flexible endoscopes be stored in drying cabinets, the September 14 Periop Today reports. The explanation for this new recommendation includes: Optimal storage facilitates drying and decreases the potential for contamination. Studies on drying cabinets, which circulate HEPA-filtered air…

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Over four years the National Institutes of Health (NIH) will invest $130 million in order to accelerate the use of artificial intelligence in biomedical and behavioral research communities, Healthcare Purchasing News September 14 reported. To generate tools, resources, and richly detailed data that is responsive to AI approaches, the NIH…

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Editor's Note In this study from Brazil, researchers find that olfactory dysfunction (ie, reduced or distorted ability to smell during sniffing or eating) in patients with long COVID-19 may persist for more than 1 year and may become permanent. Of 219 patients (164 [74.9%] women) with long COVID-19 and neurologic…

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Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration on September 12 identified the recall by Medtronic Xomed of its NIM Contact Reinforced EMG Endotracheal Tube and NIM Standard Reinforced EMG Endotracheal Tube as Class I, the most serious. The recall was initiated after Medtronic Xomed received customer complaints about obstruction of…

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Editor's Note The Joint Commission on September 7 released sentinel event data for the first 6 months of 2022. Of 832 events reviewed this year from January 1 to June 30, the top 10 most frequently reported were: Falls—199 Unintended retention of foreign objects—30 Suicides—26 Delays in treatment—25 Wrong surgery—19…

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Editor's Note  The Financial Intermediary Fund (FIF) Governing Board established the new FIF for pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response (PPR) at its inaugural meeting from September 8-9, World Health Organization (WHO) September 9 reports. The goal is to provide long-term financing to strengthen PPR capabilities in low- and middle-income countries…

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Editor's Note This study led by researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) finds that COVID-19 vaccines are strongly associated with preventing serious illness. Analyzing data from 192,509 hospitalizations in 250 US hospitals: monthly COVID-19 associated hospitalization rates ranged from 3.5 to 17.7 times higher in unvaccinated…

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Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on September 8 issued a Safety Communication informing the public about reports of cancers, including squamous cell carcinomas and various lymphomas in the scar tissue that forms around breast implants. The various lymphomas are not the same as the lymphomas reported in…

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