New WHO recommendations on preventing SSIs
Editor's Note The World Health Organization (WHO) on November 3 released the “Global Guidelines for the Prevention of Surgical Site Infection,” which includes a list of 29 recommendations (13 preoperative and 16 intra- and postoperative). Included in the recommendations are: ensuring patients take a preoperative bath or shower no shaving…
AABB publishes updated RBC transfusion guidelines
Editor's Note The AABB has published updated recommendations to assist clinicians in decisions on red blood cell (RBC) transfusion. The original recommendations were released in 2012. The update, titled “Red blood cell transfusion: 2016 clinical practice guideline from the AABB,” includes two main recommendations: Restrictive RBC transfusion thresholds: …
AHRQ updates guidelines for preventing hospital-associated VTE
Editor's Note The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) has updated its “Preventing hospital-associated venous thromboembolism [VTE]: A guide for effective quality improvement.” The guidelines were originally published in 2008. The update includes: new and improved metrics for tracking the adequacy of VTE prophylaxis good and bad aspects of…
FDA issues draft guidance on when to seek reapproval for medical devices
Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on August 8 published draft guidance on when medical device manufacturers and software developers must obtain FDA clearance before making changes to existing products, the August 8 Modern Healthcare reports. The draft says if the “overall structure” of a device’s software is…
FDA issues draft UDI guidance
Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on July 26 issued a draft Unique Device Identification (UDI) guideline that requires most medical device labels and packages to bear a UDI in easily readable plain-text and automatic identification and data capture technology forms. UDIs must be issued under a system…
Guidelines on Preoperative Screening and Assessment of Adult Patients with Obstructive Sleep Apnea
Editor's Note These guidelines were developed to provide a more efficient and cost-effective preoperative workup of patients with diagnosed or suspected obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). They examine the existing evidence-base for preoperative screening and preparation of patients with OSA, as well as the perioperative use of CPAP in patients with…
Incidence of advanced prostate cancer skyrockets
Editor's Note The number of new cases of men with metastatic prostate cancer in the US has increased 72% in the past decade, this study finds. The largest jump was in men aged 55 to 69 years (92% increase), the age group who benefits the most from prostate cancer screening…
New screening recommendations for colorectal cancer
Editor's Note The US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) has updated the 2008 recommendations for colorectal cancer screening. The USPSTF recommends screening for colorectal cancer starting at age 50 and continuing until age 75 (A recommendation). The decision to screen adults 76 to 85 years should be an individual one,…
Benefits, burden, and harm of colorectal cancer screening strategies
Editor's Note In this modeling study of previously unscreened 40-years olds undergoing colorectal cancer screening, the following screening strategies from ages 50 to 75 years were estimated to provide similar life years gained and a comparable balance of benefit and screening burden: colonoscopy every 10 years annual fecal immunochemical testing…
Effect of clinical practice guideline for children with complicated appendicitis
Editor's Note This study found that implementation of a clinical practice guideline for management of pediatric complicated appendicitis standardized practice patterns among surgeons and was associated with reduced resource use and improved patient outcomes. Compared with the pre-guideline group, patients in the post-guideline group were less likely to: receive a…
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