Editor's Note ECRI Institute announced July 17 that it will continue providing services of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality’s (AHRQ’s) National Guideline Clearinghouse (NCG), which was shut down because of lack of funding. The federal government has relied on ECRI Institute to maintain the NCG since its inception…

Read More

The new year brings a newly updated Guideline for Manual Chemical High-Level Disinfection (formerly the Guideline for High-Level Disinfection). This AORN guideline, which is based on a comprehensive, systematic review of research- and non-research-based evidence, recommends best practices for safe and effective high-level disinfection (HLD) performed manually when automated methods…

Read More

Editor's Note Strictly enforcing a ban on skullcaps in the OR had no impact on surgical site infection (SSI) rates in this study, presented at the annual Academic Surgical Congress in Jacksonville, Florida. The analysis included American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (ACS NSQIP) data on 1,901…

Read More

Editor's Note The Society of Thoracic Surgeons, Society of Cardiovascular Anesthesiologists, and the American Society of ExtraCorporeal Technology on January 19 announced the release of new clinical practice guidelines on the use of anticoagulants during cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB). Among the guideline recommendations are: optimal heparin dosing for initiation and maintenance…

Read More

Editor's Note The Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA) on January 11 released new expert guidance on contact precautions for patients with multidrug-resistant bacterial infections. The guidance advises hospitals on when they can safely discontinue contact precautions, including use of gowns, gloves, and masks. In most cases, this ranges…

Read More

Editor's Note Joint Commission Resources on January 17 released the 2018 Hospital Compliance Assessment Checklist, a self-assessment workbook designed to help organizations with standards compliance and survey readiness. In addition to hospital standards and elements of performance (EP), this year’s Checklist includes: High-level prompts to promote staff discussion and cultivate…

Read More

Editor's Note Food and Drug Administration (FDA) commissioner Scott Gottlieb, MD, issued a statement December 4 on the FDA’s final guidance on medical device additive manufacturing, also known as 3D printing. The FDA has reviewed more than 100 devices currently on the market that were manufactured on 3D printers, including…

Read More

The Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation (AAMI) in September released the newest version of the ANSI/AAMI ST 79 Comprehensive Guide to Steam Sterilization and Sterility Assurance in Healthcare Facilities. This document, last updated in 2013, has been under a major review for changes in the format presentation and…

Read More

Editor's Note Guidelines for stroke treatment currently recommend clot removal within 6 hours of onset. However, a new study led by researchers from Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, finds that clot removal up to 24 hours leads to significantly reduced disability. This international multi-center study randomly assigned 206 stroke…

Read More

Editor's Note This population-based analysis finds that implementation of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) interventions in total joint patients is limited, with some current trends virtually in contrast to practice guidelines. Of more than 1 million patients analyzed, anesthetic techniques did not differ by OSA status, and overall, less than 25%…

Read More