Military-civilian partnership creates first fully integrated trauma system
Editor's Note The American College of Surgeons on May 23 announced that a partnership between the Military Health System and civilian trauma institutions is underway to create the first fully integrated military-civilian trauma system. The system will train military surgeons before deployment, help surgeons retain skills while deployed, and bring…
Study: Procedures performed by older surgeons have lower mortality rates
Editor's Note In this study, non-elective surgical procedures performed by older surgeons (aged 50 and up) had lower mortality rates than those performed by younger surgeons, and mortality rates did not differ significantly by surgeon gender. A total of 892,187 Medicare patients who had one of 20 common types of…
ACS advocates for a consensus strategy on preventing firearm violence
Editor's Note In an effort to bridge political differences and provide a constructive path forward, leaders of the American College of Surgeons (ACS) Committee on Trauma on April 19 released a set of strategies to reduce firearm-related injury, disability, and death by making ownership of firearms as safe as possible.…
Joint Commission issues new Sentinel Event Alert on violence against healthcare workers
Editor's Note The Joint Commission on April 17 announced that it had issued a new Sentinel Event Alert 59: Physical and verbal violence against healthcare workers. The Joint Commission issued the alert during Workplace Violence Awareness Month to help healthcare workers in hospitals and other healthcare settings recognize violence from…
Civilian prehospital tourniquet use saves lives, limbs
Editor's Note Though still underused, this study found civilian prehospital tourniquet application tied to a six-fold reduction in mortality in peripheral vascular injuries. The Texas Tourniquet Study Group analyzed 1,026 patients with vascular injuries of the arms or legs admitted to 11 Level I trauma centers in Texas from 2011…
CDC study finds nearly 30% increase in ED visits for opioid overdose
Editor's Note Researchers from the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) found that emergency department (ED) visits for opioid overdoses increased 29.7% from July 2016 to September 2017, according to the March 9 Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. Every demographic group and all US regions saw increases, but the…
Joint Commission improves access to revised EM standards for ambulatory care customers
Editor's Note The Joint Commission on February 21 announced that it has created specific versions of 19 elements of performance (EPs) for deemed ambulatory surgical centers and specific versions for federally qualified health centers and rural health clinics to improve access in the E-dition. The EPs were added for the Centers…
FDA permits marketing of new blood test for concussions
Editor's Note The Food & Drug Administration (FDA) on February 14 authorized marketing of the first blood test to help evaluate concussions in adults and reduce the need for CT scans. The Banyan Brain Trauma Indicator works by measuring levels of proteins (ie, UCH-L1 and GFAP) that are released from…
Association of injury location to mortality
Editor's Note Injury scene characteristics are linked to mortality, with odds of death highest for those injured in communities with higher median age or lower per capita income, and located farther from level 1 or 2 trauma centers, this study finds. This study of 16,082 patients found the odds of…
CMS: Two exercises of emergency operations plan required annually
Editor's Note The Joint Commission reported on January 31 that it had confirmed with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) that organizations are required to have two exercises of their emergency operations plan annually. Among the organizations to which the requirement applies are: deemed hospitals critical access hospitals…
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