Editor's Note The Joint Commission reported on June 1 that a new independent study of 161 Joint Commission-accredited ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) finds that for each dollar invested in accreditation, an organization has that dollar returned along with an additional $6.28 in benefits. Key areas of financial return include: Revenue,…

Read More

Editor's Note This Norwegian study finds that maternal COVID-19 vaccination during the second or third trimester of pregnancy was associated with a reduced risk of COVID-19 within the first 4 months of life of their infants. Of 21,643 infants analyzed, 9,739 (45%) were born to women who received a second…

Read More

Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on May 27 identified the recall of the ArjoHuntleigh Polska Sara Plus floor lift as Class I, the most serious. The recall was initiated because of the risk of smoke or fire if the lift is used when the battery is low.…

Read More

Editor's Note This systematic review and meta-analysis led by researchers in the UK finds that across the world, cardiovascular (CV) services were severely disrupted, and as a result cardiac disease is expected to worsen, and repercussions will be felt for years to come. This analysis spans 2 years (2020 to…

Read More

Editor's Note National Time Out Day, June 8, draws attention to the need for everyone on the surgical team to pause before a surgical procedure begins to make sure they are doing the right procedure on the right patient at the right site. AORN created the National Time Out Day…

Read More

Editor's Note Based on this update of a systematic review and meta-analysis of 130 studies, led by researchers from the University of Bern, Switzerland, most COVID-19 infections were not persistently asymptomatic, and asymptomatic infections were less infectious than symptomatic infections. Because of variability among studies, the meta-analysis did not calculate…

Read More

Editor's Note Modeling suggests that COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations, and deaths will rise through at least mid-June, as the Omicron subvariants BA.2 and BA.2.12.1 spread through the US, the May 31 Becker’s Hospital Review reports. Three COVID-19 forecasts to watch, include: Cases. Daily cases are projected to increase more than 84%…

Read More

Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on May 26 identified the recall of Abbott Medical’s Dragonfly OpStar Imaging Catheter as Class I, the most serious. Abbott is recalling certain lots of the imaging catheter because the marker band farthest from the catheter tip (proximal marker) may become loose…

Read More

Editor's Note Cardiologists at the University of Washington School of Medicine (UW Medicine) in Seattle, Washington, are participating in a national clinical trial to test a device designed to control bleeding if a vessel near the heart is inadvertently perforated during a catheter-based procedure, Healthcare Purchasing News May 26 reported.…

Read More

Editor's Note This South Korean study finds that fully vaccinated individuals have a shorter duration of viable viral shedding and a lower rate of secondary transmission than partially vaccinated or unvaccinated individuals. This study uses 2 cohorts to separately determine the transmissibility of COVID-19 according to vaccination status (ie, fully…

Read More