FDA safety alert: Heater-cooler devices linked to infections
Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration on October 15 issued a safety alert that heater-cooler devices have been associated with Nontuberculous Mycobacteria infections, primarily in patients undergoing cardiothoracic surgical procedures. Devices include: oxygenator heat exchangers cardioplegia heat exchangers warming/cooling blankets. Between January 2010 and August 2015, the FDA received…
SSI risk after c-section twice as high for Medicaid patients
Editor's Note Medicaid patients had a twofold higher risk of surgical site infections (SSIs) after cesarean delivery than privately insured patients, this study finds. The higher risk remained even after adjusting for demographic and clinical variables. Medicaid might represent factors the study did not account for, such as socioeconomic status…
Good surgical-team communication prevents SSIs
Editor's Note In this study, more case-relevant communication among surgical team members during a procedure was associated with fewer organ/space surgical site infections (SSIs). More case-irrelevant communication during the closing phase of the procedure was linked to an increased incidence of incisional SSIs. Distractions were not associated with SSIs. Case-irrelevant…
Validity of CAUTI metric used for value-based purchasing questioned
Editor's Note Two different measurement systems are used to track performance in lowering the rate of catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTIs). The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality metric has shown a 28.2% decrease in CAUTIs since 2010, whereas the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s metric has shown a…
Electronic tracking system reduces blood transfusions, infections
Editor's Note An electronic blood tracking system that monitors how physicians prescribe postoperative blood transfusions significantly reduced the amount of blood patients receive and cut infection rates in half, according to a study presented October 7 at the 2015 Clinical Congress of the American College of Surgeons in Chicago. The…
FDA orders duodenoscope manufacturers to conduct postmarket surveillance studies
Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration on October 5 ordered three manufacturers of duodenoscopes marketed in the US to study the reprocessing of their devices in the clinical setting where they are used. The three manufacturers—Olympus America, Inc; Fujifilm Medical Systems, USA, Inc; and Hoya Corp (Pentax Life Care…
HVAC task force issues interim guide for OR, SPD
Editor's Note A heating, ventilating, and air conditioning task force on September 28 issued interim guidance to help health care facilities maintain appropriate temperature and humidity in ORs and sterile processing departments, AHA News reports. The interim guide was developed as the task force is working to achieve consensus on…
Infection prevention tops list of readmission 'action items'
Although most patients spend a brief time in the OR, what happens there significantly impacts a hospital’s 30-day readmission rate. According to a 2015 study in JAMA, complications related to the surgical procedure are the most common cause of readmission after surgery. The researchers analyzed data from the American College…
Risk assessment and remedial action required to curb infections
They are so attractive, those surgeons with rakish beards, those nurses with sparkling manicures, those surgical technologists with dangling earrings. Unfortunately, what is acceptable in many other workplaces is an invitation to infection in the surgical arena (and other healthcare settings as well). Jean Day, BSN, CNOR, director of education…
Joint Commission: Proposed revisions to CAUTI National Patient Safety Goal
Editor's Note The Joint Commission is asking for comments on revisions to its National Patient Safety Goal on prevention of catheter-associated urinary tract infections (NPSG.07.06.01). Comments will be accepted until October 14.
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