Editor's Note The first study to directly compare kidney-related adverse outcomes between perioperative use of gabapentin and pregabalin shows that the former drug carries a higher risk, Renal and Urology News reported January 21. Published in Frontiers in Medicine, the study involved a trial emulation of 1,280 propensity-matched surgical patients…

Read More

Editor's Note An EHR-integrated closed-loop clinical decision support system (CDSS) significantly reduced unnecessary preoperative testing, improved patient safety, and significantly reduced costs across two hospitals in Madrid, Spain. As detailed in a study published January 3 in npj digital medicine, this system demonstrates the potential of automated guidelines to optimize…

Read More

Editor's Note Optimizing surgeon stress could enhance surgical performance and patient outcomes, according to a large cohort study published January 15 in JAMA Surgery. Researchers focused particularly on physiological markers of surgeon stress during the first 5 minutes of a procedure, revealing a significant inverse relationship with major patient complications.…

Read More

Editor's Note A meta-analysis reveals that cataract surgery often leads to temporary tear film instability, with symptoms potentially lasting up to three months, according to a January 16 article in Medscape. However, the impact on other dry eye measures remains unclear due to inconsistent findings across studies. Researchers analyzed 20…

Read More

Editor's Note Nurse staffing rates in hospitals serving a high percentage of Black patients are worse than in hospitals serving fewer Black patients, a disparity that has significant implications for patient outcomes, according to a study from the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing. Published in the journal Nursing Research…

Read More

Editor's Note A study published in JAMA Surgery revealed that hospitals owned by private equity firms had significantly worse outcomes for esophagectomy patients compared to non-acquired hospitals. As detailed in a January 2 report on the findings in MedPage Today, the analysis of over 9,000 cases highlights disparities in 30-day…

Read More

Editor's Note A study analyzing data from 124,577 suspected sepsis cases across 236 US hospitals found that antibiotic de-escalation—switching to narrower-spectrum antibiotics or stopping broad-spectrum antibiotics—occurred in less than 30% of cases but was associated with improved patient outcomes, according to December 6 report from the Center for Infectious Disease…

Read More

Editor's Note Adverse events (AEs) remain widespread in perioperative care, affecting nearly one in three patients and resulting in substantial and often preventable patient harm, according to a retrospective cohort study published November 13 in The BMJ. The study analyzed 1,009 weighted admissions from a sample of 64,121 surgical patients…

Read More

Editor's Note A new meta-analysis of 85 studies reveals a significant association between nurse burnout and negative outcomes in patient safety, satisfaction, and care quality. The findings underscore the impact of burnout—characterized by emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and low personal accomplishment—on healthcare performance globally, with implications for organizational and policy interventions,…

Read More

Editor's Note Research shows repeated fasting for multiple surgeries during a single hospital stay significantly raises the risk of protein-calorie malnutrition, leading to longer recovery times, increased healthcare costs, and a higher likelihood of death. HealthDay covered the news October 21. Presented at the American Society of Anesthesiologists annual meeting,…

Read More