Editor's Note This Canadian study finds a 1.5-fold increase in costs in the year after major, elective noncardiac surgery for patients with preoperative frailty. A total of 171,576 patients (23,219 with preoperative frailty) were included in the analysis. Unadjusted costs were higher for frail patients. After adjusting for confounders, an…

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Editor's Note This expert guidance document, sponsored by the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA), updates the “Strategies to Prevent Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus [MRSA] Transmission and Infection in Acute Care Hospitals” that were published in 2014. Among the updates: Recommendations are now categorized as Essential Practices that should be…

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Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration (FDA), on July 28, identified the recall by GE HealthCare of its TruSignal SpO2 [arterial oxygen saturation] sensors as Class I, the most serious. The recall was initiated because of issues that may reduce the amount of energy sent to the heart during…

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Editor's Note This French study examines the rate of medical confidentiality breaches in tweets by anesthesiology and intensive care healthcare workers (HCWs). Data from 431 tweets with photographs and 9,000 text-only tweets from 1,831 accounts were included in the analysis. Among the findings: There were 44 (10.2%) breaches of medical…

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Editor's Note This prospective multi-institutional, multi-country study led by researchers from the University of Sydney, Australia, finds that as few as 4 to 5 minutes of vigorous intermittent physical activity (VILPA) daily is associated with a substantially lower cancer risk. VILPA refers to brief and sporadic (eg, up to 1…

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Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration (FDA), on July 27, identified the recall by Abiomed of all Impella Left Sided Blood Pumps as Class I, the most serious. Abiomed is recalling the pumps because the instructions for use do not adequately address precautions to take when treating transcatheter aortic…

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Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration (FDA), on July 26, identified the recall by Abbott of its Amplatzer Steerable Delivery Sheath as Class I, the most serious. Abbott is recalling the sheath because of an increased risk for air emboli being introduced into patients who have cardiac catheterization procedures…

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Editor's Note This study from the University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, finds that telemedicine use is associated with lower direct medical costs. A total of 2,938 outpatient department visits and 20,204 office-based visits were included in the analysis. Of these 47.6% of outpatient department and 24.7% of office-based visits…

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Editor's Note This study, led by nurse researchers at the College of Nursing, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, explores the experiences of infection preventionists (IPs) during the COVID-19 pandemic. Responses from 61 IPs surveyed were included in the analysis. Among the findings: The initial phases of COVID-19 was a time of clinical…

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Editor's Note Paul Friedrichs, MD, a military combat surgeon and retired Air Force major general, will lead the new Office of Pandemic Preparedness and Response Policy, which will replace the current COVID-19 and monkeypox response teams, and prepare for future pandemics, the July 21 Reuters reports. Dr Friedrichs will be…

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