Inefficiencies in surgical case scheduling can lead to large revenue losses. When leaders at Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center (SHMC) in Spokane, Washington, realized poor room utilization was the cause of more than $1 million in annual overtime costs, they knew that better planning was needed. “For every 60 minutes…

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Editor's Note Excessive opioid prescribing was associated with higher postoperative opioid consumption in this study. In this analysis of 2,392 surgical patients, the quantity of opioids prescribed was significantly higher than opioid consumption, with patients reporting using only 27% of the opioids prescribed to them. Prescription size had the strongest…

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Editor's Note In this study, minimally invasive radical hysterectomy was associated with worse overall survival and higher recurrence rates than open abdominal radical hysterectomy for women with early-stage IA or IB cervical cancer. Of 631 patients analyzed: Minimally invasive surgery was associated with a three-fold increase in disease progression. The…

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Editor's Note The American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (ACS NSQIP) on October 31 recognized 83 hospitals for achieving “Meritorious” outcomes for surgical patient care in 2017; 568 hospitals were eligible. ACS NSQIP-participating hospitals are required to track outcomes of inpatient and outpatient surgical outcomes and analyze…

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Editor's Note Colectomy patients participating in a preoperative prehabilitation program had positive physiologic effects and experienced fewer complications, this study finds. The prehabilitation program−Michigan Surgical and Health Optimization Program (MSHOP)−engages patients in four activities before surgery: Physical activity, pulmonary rehabilitation, nutritional optimization, and stress reduction. For the study, patients were…

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Editor's Note Most complications of colorectal resection steadily decreased and early hospital discharges increased over 10 years of participation in the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (ACS NSQIP), finds this study presented October 24 at the American College of Surgeons 2018 Clinical Congress in Boston. Of…

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Editor's Note A multidisciplinary panel of experts recommended changing the way clinicians and patients describe cognitive changes experienced after anesthesia and surgery, in this session presented October 16 at the Anesthesiology 2018 annual meeting in San Francisco. The experts recommended that a new umbrella term, “Perioperative Neurocognitive Disorder (PND),” be…

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Editor's Notes Though obese adults often report more postoperative pain, the same was not true for obese children in this study presented October 16 at the Anesthesiology 2018 annual meeting in San Francisco. In this analysis of 808 children who had noncardiac surgery at the Cleveland Clinic, pain was assessed…

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Editor's Note Despite concerns about addiction and side effects of opioids, patients still expect them to be prescribed and believe them to be the most effective for postoperative pain relief, finds this study presented October 13 at the Anesthesiology 2018 annual meeting in San Francisco. Researchers gave a 13-question survey…

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Editor's Note In this study, a preoperative, patient-centered wellness program significantly reduced hospital acquired infections in surgical patients at an academic medical center. A total of 12,396 surgical patients were given a wellness bundle in a roller bag during preoperative screening. The bundle included chlorhexidine bath solution, immuno-nutrition supplements, an…

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