Editor's Note This study from the Mayo Clinic of children undergoing general anesthesia before age 3 supports earlier findings of no significant impact on intelligence. However, multiple exposures may be tied to behavioral or learning difficulties. In this analysis of 997 children (411 unexposed, 380 singly exposed, 206 multiply exposed)…

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Editor's Note In this study, a significant mismatch was found between parents’ and pediatric surgeons’ expectations on the role of the surgeon on the day of surgery, with parents expecting more direct involvement by the attending surgeon. A total of 110 parents and 84 pediatric surgeons and surgical residents completed…

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Editor's Note No difference was found in the effect of perioperative ß-blockade (metoprolol continuous release 200 mg for 30 days) versus placebo on postoperative outcomes between older and younger patients in this study (POISE [perioperative ischemia evaluation] trial). In this analysis of 8,351 patients from 190 centers in 23 countries,…

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Editor's Note In this study, 30-day complications rates increased after the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) warned against the use of power morcellation in women undergoing hysterectomy for benign gynecologic indications. In a cohort of 75,487 women who had hysterectomies, statistically and clinically significant increases in major (1.9% to 2.4%)…

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Editor's Note Movement in the OR is associated with microbial load, this study finds. Researchers determined areas in the OR with high and low numbers of people in transit and placed air samplers and settle plates in representative locations during 21 surgical procedures, in four ORs, during two seasons of…

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Editor's Note Frailty is an important risk factor for postoperative complications and failure to rescue, after both low-risk and high-risk surgical procedures, this study finds. In this study of 984,550 patients in the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program, there was a dose-response association between increasing patient…

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Editor's Note In this study from the UK, researchers found a robust relationship between a surgeon’s daily OR schedule and surgical performance (indexed by duration of procedure). The researchers say surgeons should reorder their OR schedule, starting their days with the simpler cases and building up to the more difficult…

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Editor's Note Children younger than 3 years of age may benefit from 23-hour observation after tonsillectomy, this study finds. In this multicenter study of 1,817 healthy children having outpatient tonsillectomy, those younger than 3 years were at an increased risk for complications within the first 24 hours, and the complications…

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Editor's Note In patients having noncardiac surgery who develop a perioperative acute myocardial infarction (AMI), about one in three died in-hospital or were readmitted within 30 days of discharge, finds this study presented March 10 at the 2018 American College of Cardiology Annual Scientific Session. Among more than 3 million…

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Editor's Note Reductions in hospital length of stay (LOS) for surgical procedures between 2008 and 2014, were not linked to a greater use of postacute care facilities in this study. Researchers studied the relationship between decreased LOS and postacute care using summary measures from the US National Inpatient Sample with…

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