FDA drops recall of Custom Ultrasonics’ System 83 Plus endoscope reprocessor
Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has dropped its recall of approximately 2,800 Custom Ultrasonics’ System 83 Plus automated endoscope reprocessors. This action comes despite the FDA's finding last year that the recall was “necessary to protect public health,” the May 6 Kaiser Health News reports. The FDA…
CDC, OSHA issue Zika guidance for healthcare workers
Editor's Note The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) on April 22 issued interim guidance for protecting workers, including healthcare workers, from occupational exposure to the Zika virus. The guidance states that: “Employers and workers in healthcare settings and laboratories should follow…
Tool assesses SSI risk in spine patients
A new tool that assesses postoperative surgical site infection (SSI) risk in spine patients shows promise for improved patient care. Research on the tool, developed by a nurse, is still ongoing, but early results suggest the tool could help clinicians develop strategies to prevent many SSIs. Postoperative SSI rates for…
Infections from contaminated duodenoscopes higher than previously estimated
Editor's Note A new congressional investigation shows that the number of infections from contaminated duodenoscopes is much higher than previously estimated, the April 15 Los Angeles Times reports. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) told investigators that from 300 to 350 patients at 41 facilities in the US and abroad…
Surgeons to use HCV infected kidneys for transplant
Editor's Note Surgeons at the University of Pennsylvania and Johns Hopkins University hospitals will transplant kidneys from donors with hepatitis C virus (HCV) as part of a clinical trial this spring, STAT news reports. The recipients will be given a 12-week course of antiviral therapy after the transplant in hopes…
AHRQ’s Patient Safety Chartbook shows 17% decline in HACs
Editor's Note Patient safety in hospitals improved from 2010 to 2014 as the overall rate of hospital-acquired conditions (HACS) declined 17%, according to the new National Healthcare Quality and Disparities Report Patients Safety Chartbook from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). The overall HAC rate declined from 145/1,000…
Joint Commission approves new, revised NPSGs for CAUTIs
Editor's Note The Joint Commission on March 21 approved a new National Patient Safety Goal (NPSG) on catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTIs) for accredited nursing care centers. Also approved were revisions for the existing CAUTI NPSG for accredited hospitals and critical access hospitals, which were made to bring the NPSG…
Joint Commission, CDC collaborate on ambulatory infection prevention initiative
Editor's Note The Joint Commission and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) are collaborating on an initiative designed to adapt, enhance, and disseminated CDC guidelines on infection prevention in ambulatory health care settings. The initiative, “Adaptation and Dissemination of Outpatient Infection PrevenTion (ADOPT) Guidance,” will focus on free-standing…
AHRQ study finds lack of skills among nurses on urinary catheter use, specimen collection
Editor's Note Key skills may be lacking among nurses who treat patients with urinary catheters, finds this study funded by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. Of 394 nurses surveyed, 76.1% reported receiving education on catheter-associated urinary tract infection risk reduction in the last 12 months. Though 83% said they…
CDC reports progress in fighting HAIs, superbugs
Editor's Note Though US hospitals are making gains in the fight against healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) and antibiotic-resistant bacteria, too many patients continue to get these infections, according to a Vital Signs report released March 3 by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Among the findings in the report:…
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