Editor's Note Metaverse company, Ubitus K.K., will help Smart Surgery Technology roll out Sim Surgery – a VR surgery simulation application, reports January 5 Healthcare Purchasing News. Sim Surgery will be an affordable and more available solution addressing the growing need for medical students and physicians to gain ample surgical…

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Editor's Note This study, led by researchers at the University Medical Center Utrecht in the Netherlands, finds that a liberal preoperative fasting policy allowing adults scheduled for general anesthesia to drink clear fluids until arrival in the OR was associated with reduced fasting duration and improved patient well-being with regard…

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Editor's Note This study from the University of California, San Francisco, finds that patient access to elective surgical procedures during the COVID-19 pandemic recovery phase was limited by disparities based on age, language, marital status, insurance, socioeconomic status, and distance from care. Among the findings: The number of patients with…

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Editor's Note This study from the University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, finds that postoperative opioid prescriptions written by advanced practice clinicians (APCs), defined as nurse practitioners and physician assistants, had higher total dosages compared with those written by surgeons. A total of 628,197 surgical procedures involving 581,387 adults…

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Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on December 16 identified the recall by Teleflex and Arrow International, LLC, of its Arrow MAC Two-Lumen Central Venous Access Kits and Arrow Pressure Injectable Arrowg+ard Blue Plus Three-Lumen Central Venous Catheter (CVC) Kits as Class I, the most serious. The recall…

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Editor's Note This study led by epidemiologist Cori L. Ofstead, MSPH, and associates, St Paul, Minnesota, found visible damage and residue or debris in 100% of 25 processed flexible endoscopes, using a new visual inspection program that included magnification and borescopes. Fully processed endoscopes were examined twice during a 2-month…

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Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration (FDA), on December 20, identified the recall by Arrow International, LLC, subsidiary of Teleflex, Inc, of its Arrow AutoCAT 2 and AC3 intra-aortic balloon pumps (IABPs) as Class I, the most serious. IABPs are used in patients having cardiac and non-cardiac surgery, and…

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Editor's Note The Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA) announced on December 21 that it no longer recommends Universal COVID-19 screening for asymptomatic hospital patients, reports December 21 Fierce Healthcare. The new recommendation was published by the organization’s board of directors in the Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology journal.…

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Editor's Note Hospital leaders are preparing for what is expected to be a turbulent 2023, according to results of a December 13 survey from the Deloitte Center for Health Solutions, reports December 19 Healthcare Purchasing News. The majority of health system leaders said that staffing challenges (85%) and inflation (76%)…

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Editor's Note US Children’s hospitals are seeing a surge in invasive group A strep infections, NBC News reported on December 14, December 15 Becker’s Hospital Review reports. Physicians in Arizona, Colorado, Texas and Washington told NBC that they are detecting higher numbers of cases compared to past years, with Texas…

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