FDA: B. Braun recalls blood administration sets
Editor's Note The Food & Drug Administration (FDA) on November 26 announced a voluntary recall by B. Braun Medical (Bethlehem, Pennsylvania) of 22 lots of blood administration sets. The recall was initiated because of the potential for leakage at the joint between the blood filters and tubing. This could force…
Use of alcohol-based hand rub on gloves by anesthesia providers
Editor's Note In this study, the use of alcohol-based hand rub on nitrile examination gloves did not compromise glove integrity or hamper the ability of anesthesia providers to safely perform anesthesia functions. A total of 50 new gloves (not exposed to alcohol-based hand rub) were tested for integrity, and one…
FDA clears first duodenoscope with disposable elevator component
Editor's Note The Food & Drug Administration (FDA) on November 15 announced that it had cleared for marketing in the US the first duodenoscope with a sterile, disposable elevator component. The clearance of the Pentax Medical Video ED34-i10T2 duodenoscope represents a major step toward lowering the risk of infection in…
Sterilization trumps high-level disinfection for semicritical items
In the never-ending quest to improve patient care, we are always seeking better ways to process medical devices. Many leading experts now recommend transitioning from high-level disinfection (HLD) to sterilization for semicritical items. Semicritical items are instruments or objects that contact mucous membranes or nonintact skin of a patient, but…
Postop infection linked to risk of long-term infection, mortality
Editor's Note Infection after surgery during postoperative days 0 to 30 is significantly associated with long-term infection and mortality, this study finds. In this analysis of 659,486 patients from the Veterans Health Administration, 3.6% had a 30-day infection, 6.6% had a long-term infection, and 3.8% died during follow-up. At any…
Association of disposable OR jackets with SSIs
Editor's Note The use of long-sleeved disposable OR jackets as recommended by AORN is not associated with reductions in surgical site infections (SSIs) and presents a fiscal burden, this study finds. In this analysis of 60,009 patients in 12 hospitals in a large multicenter health organization during a 55 month…
Mayo Clinic Care Network reduces hospital stays with ERPs
Editor's Note An Enhanced Recovery Pathway (ERP) created by the Mayo Clinic’s colorectal surgery service a decade ago has now been adopted by other surgical services in seven medical centers that are members of the Mayo Clinic Care Network, the October 15 Harvard Business Review reports. The ability of each…
Laminated posters, badge buddies on NPSGs available from Joint Commission
Editor's Note The Joint Commission announced on October 23 that laminated posters and badge buddies on the 2020 National Patient Safety Goals (NPSGs) for hospitals are now available for purchase. Areas covered by the NPSGs include: Patient identification Infection prevention Patient safety risks Safe surgery. The posters and badge buddies…
CDC updates 1998 guideline for infection control in the healthcare workplace
Editor's Note The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on October 18 released an update to its “Guideline for infection control in healthcare personnel, 1998.” The updated document, “Infection Control in Healthcare Personnel: Infrastructure and Routine Practices for Occupational Infection Prevention and Control Services (2019),” applies to a broader range…
Identifying postop complications using EHR data and machine learning
Editor's Note Using machine learning on electronic health record (EHR) postoperative data linked to the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (ACS NSQIP) outcomes data, researchers developed a model with 163 predictors of postoperative complications at the University of Colorado Hospital. Of 6,840 patients analyzed with the…
Free Daily News
- Moody’s downgrades health insurance outlook as medical costs surge
- Criminalizing anesthesia errors has unintended consequences, experts warn
- FDA approves new non-opioid analgesic
- Legislation proposes to halt Medicare physician payment cuts
- Cigna ties executive pay to patient experience
- Proposed tax credit aims to bolster nurse preceptor ranks
- Study links financial conflicts of interest to favorable robotic bariatric surgery research
- Hospitals double down on ambulatory care expansion with major investments
- Study: Post-laparotomy incisional negative pressure wound therapy fails to reduce infection risk
- FDA announces multiple Class 1 recalls