Safety/Quality
South Korea issues deadline, threatens prosecution for junior doctors amid surgery-stopping strike
Editor's Note A week after a walkout of junior doctors in South Korea halted about a third of surgeries at large hospitals in Seoul, the government is threatening prosecution and the revocation of medical licenses if the walkout doesn’t end by February 29. As reported by the Associated Press February…
Study: Postop emergency appendectomy complications more likely for Black children
Editor's Note In a recent study, black children undergoing emergency appendectomy had a four times greater risk of postoperative complications than white children, independent of socioeconomic status or type of appendicitis. Anaesthesia, the journal of the Association of Anaesthetists, published the findings February 22. Researchers note that this is the…
Study: Bariatric surgery effective for pediatric weight loss, but may adversely affect bone health
Editor's Note What researchers say is the first systematic review and meta-analysis to report on bone health outcomes from pediatric bariatric surgery shows the procedure is highly effective at achieving weight loss amid a childhood obesity crisis of epidemic proportions. However, the surgery also could put patients at greater risk…
Air pollution tied to hospital admissions for heart disease
Editor's Note Data published February 21 in The BMJ points to air pollution as a factor in increased hospital admissions for major heart diseases. According to the Global Burden of Disease study, exposure to fine particulate matter (PM2.5) accounts for 7.6% of total mortality and 4.2% of disability-adjusted life years…
Cyberattack disrupts systems at health technology giant Change Healthcare
Editor's Note Nationwide pharmacy delays and disrupted internal systems are among the effects of a February 21 cyberattack on Change Healthcare, one of the largest healthcare technology companies in the United States. Systems were immediately disconnected to protect partners and patients, the organization reports, and “all other systems across UnitedHealth…
Study: Early postoperative endoscopy safe, effective for esophageal cancer patients
Editor's Note Using early postoperative endoscopy to detect anastomotic leakage after minimally invasive esophagectomy does not increase postoperative adverse events, according to a study published February 10 in the journal Surgery. Anastomotic leakage is one of the most severe adverse events of minimally invasive esophagectomy for esophageal cancer. Often deadly,…
Study: Intravascular imaging for stent guidance improves outcomes for heart disease patients
Editor's Note Using intravascular imaging to guide stent implantation during percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) provides significantly better outcomes than angiography, according to findings published February 21 in The Lancet. In a study of 15,964 patients undergoing PCI from 22 trials in hundreds of centers from March 2010 to August 2023,…
Study questions use of fusion surgery for treating sacroiliac joint pain
Editor's Note A recent double-blind, randomized controlled trial could not prove that minimally invasive sacroiliac joint fusion was any more effective than sham surgery in treating severe sacroiliac joint pain. “With these findings, there should be discussion in the medical community whether an irreversible surgical procedure with related risks and…
FDA issues warning on fraudulent, unreliable medical device testing data
Editor's Note The FDA has issued a warning regarding fraudulent, duplicated and otherwise unreliable data coming from third party test labs that produce data for medical device companies, including many based in India and China. Issued February 20, the alert warns medical device manufacturers that they are responsible for confirming the…
Study: Intrathecal morphine reduces post-op opioid need in open prostate, kidney surgeries
Editor's Note A recent study suggests a single dose of intrathecal morphine provides long-lasting analgesia and reduces the need for postoperative systemic administration of opioids after painful open urological procedures. The Journal of PeriAnesthesia Nursing published the data January 31. Intrathecal opioid administration is an attractive technique in these surgeries…
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