Editor's Note This 3-year survey study led by researchers at Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, North Carolina, finds that emotional exhaustion trajectories varied by role but increased overall among most healthcare workers (HCWs) since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Of 107, 122 HCWs surveyed, respondents reported increased emotional…
Editor's Note This study from The Wharton School, Philadelphia, and Colorado School of Public Health, Aurora, examines changes in unemployment among healthcare workers (HCWs) from January 2015 to April 2022. The researchers found that: Prepandemic, 2.28% of HCWs and 3.82% of non-HCWs reported being unemployed. During the pandemic, 3.18% of…
Editor's Note This study from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, finds that overlapping clinical responsibilities of a supervising anesthesiologist are associated with increased surgical patient mortality and morbidity. A total of 578,815 adult surgical patients from 23 US academic and private hospitals were included in the analysis. The patients…
Editor's Note In this survey of surgical, internal medicine, emergency medicine, and psychiatry residents by researchers from Florida Atlantic University’s Schmidt College of Medicine, Boca Rotan, residents reported having effective coping strategies during the early phase of the COVID-19 pandemic. A total of 59 residents completed the survey. Results showed…
Editor's Note The recently revised “Guideline for Processing Flexible Endoscopes” recommends that flexible endoscopes be stored in drying cabinets, the September 14 Periop Today reports. The explanation for this new recommendation includes: Optimal storage facilitates drying and decreases the potential for contamination. Studies on drying cabinets, which circulate HEPA-filtered air…
Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration on September 12 identified the recall by Medtronic Xomed of its NIM Contact Reinforced EMG Endotracheal Tube and NIM Standard Reinforced EMG Endotracheal Tube as Class I, the most serious. The recall was initiated after Medtronic Xomed received customer complaints about obstruction of…
Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on September 8 issued a Safety Communication informing the public about reports of cancers, including squamous cell carcinomas and various lymphomas in the scar tissue that forms around breast implants. The various lymphomas are not the same as the lymphomas reported in…
Editor's Note In this study conducted by researchers from Brigham and Women’s Hospital, titled “Is early- onset cancer an emerging global epidemic? Current evidence and future implications” and published by Nature Reviews Clinical Oncology, the incidence of early onset cancers (cancer diagnosed before age 50), including breast, colon, esophagus, kidney,…
Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on August 31 identified the recall by Integra of its CereLink ICP Monitor as Class I, the most serious. The recall was initiated because the device may display incorrect values for a patient’s intracranial pressure (ICP) and display out-of-range pressure readings. If…
Editor's Note This study (CRISTAL randomized trial) from Australia finds that aspirin compared with enoxaparin resulted in significantly higher rates of venous thromboembolism (VTE) after total hip or knee arthroplasty. This cluster-randomized, crossover trial included 9,711 patients in 31 hospitals in Australia—5,675 in the aspirin group and 4,036 in the…