Editor's Note The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has designated OptumHealth Care Solutions’ recall of the Nimbus II ambulatory infusion pumps a class 1, the most severe category indicating risk of serious injury or death. According to the agency’s May 30 announcement, the company recalled the pumps in direct…

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Editor's Note Need for physical examination, technological limitations, care quality concerns, and malpractice risk topped the list of perceived barriers to employing video visits in surgical care in a study published May 10 in the journal Surgery. This study was reportedly the first to comprehensively survey surgeons on their perception…

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Editor's Note Colorado is the first state in naton to pass legislation regulating the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in pivotal decision-making, including in healthcare, according to a May 22 report in Politico. The new law has sparked significant debate, according to the report, with some viewing it as a…

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Editor's Note Semaglutide, the active ingredient in Ozempic diabetes treatment and Wegovy weight-loss treatment, outperformed a placebo and demonstrated capacity to reduce risk of death from kidney-related or cardiovascular causes in a recent study of patients with type 2 diabetes and chronic kidney disease spearheaded by manufacturer Novo Nordisk. Published…

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Editor's Note Artificial intelligence (AI) threatens patient safety by undermining the judgment of human nurses, according to a survey by National Nurses United (NNU). “The findings, coupled with anecdotal reports from nurses at hospitals nationwide, underscore the urgent need for stricter regulation and greater input from nurses and health care…

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Editor's Note A choking hazard prompted the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to designate Vyaire Medical’s recall of Twin Tube sample lines—critical components of the Vyntus CPX system—as Class 1, the most serious category of recall indicating a risk of serious injury or death. According to the agency’s May…

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Is working with a healthcare vendor a necessary evil? For leaders in the perioperative space, where vendors abound, it may be tempting to answer “yes.” The relationship between vendors and nurse leaders is a delicate balance between give and take, but sometimes the take seems to outweigh the give. Nonetheless,…

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Over 20 years ago, an article from Johns Hopkins published in The New England Journal of Medicine showed that Staphylococcus aureus decolonization of the nares can decrease risk of surgical site infections (SSI). Since then, nasal decolonization—the application of a topical antimicrobial or antiseptic agent to the nares—has been adopted…

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Are you part of the ambulatory surgery center (ASC) construction boom? Approximately 116 new facilities opened in 2023, according to Becker’s ASC Review, and more are planned for and underway in 2024. The upward trend shows no signs of slowing. Fortune Business Insights projects the US ambulatory surgery center market…

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Inspecting surgical devices is a time-consuming process. However, diligently checking every instrument prior to sterilization is essential to ensuring safe, proper functioning. As the last people to see devices before they are used for patient care, sterile processing technicians must be thorough. Exterior surfaces should be inspected for flaws such…

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