FDA, CDC increase access to respirators during COVID-19 outbreak
Editor's Note The Food & Drug Administration (FDA) on March 2 announced that it had joined with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to make more respirators, including certain N95s, available to healthcare personnel during the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. Currently, the majority of respirators are used in industrial…
CDC updates coronavirus guidance
Editor's Note The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on February 27 updated its guidance for healthcare professionals evaluating and reporting patients under investigation for the novel coronavirus (COVID-19). The CDC has developed clinical criteria to guide patient evaluation based on what is known about Middle East Respiratory Syndrome…
CDC urges communities, hospitals to prepare for spread of coronavirus
Editor's Note In a February 25 telebriefing, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) warned that the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) will spread in the US, and hospitals and communities should begin ramping up their preparedness efforts, AHA Today reports. The CDC urged communities to implement non-pharmaceutical interventions or community…
Breathing easier in a smoke-free health system
Controlling electrosurgical smoke is a major challenge in many ORs. In 1996, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health published a policy on controlling smoke from lasers and electrosurgical procedures, and over the years, studies have linked adverse health effects with electrosurgical smoke exposure. Yet healthcare providers have differing…
Specialists advise on coronavirus preparedness
Editor's Note Hospitals should prepare now for an influx of seriously ill patients infected with the new coronavirus (COVID-19), critical care specialists advised in a panel discussion February 17 at the Society of Critical Care Medicine’s annual congress in Orlando, Florida. A significant influx of seriously ill patients will put…
AORN releases COVID-19 tool kit
Editor's Note AORN on February 14 released a new coronavirus (COVID-19) tool kit to support OR decision-making for the safety of healthcare workers and patients. The toolkit includes: World Health Organization updates Centers for Disease Control & Prevention updates ECRI Institute-Coronavirus Outbreak Preparedness Center resources Journal of the American Medical…
Coronavirus disease officially named COVID-19 by WHO
Editor's Note The new Coronavirus disease from China has been given an official name by the World Health Organization, “COVID-19,” The February 11 NPR reports. COVI comes from coronavirus, the D stands for disease, and the 19 represents 2019, the year the virus was first identified. The name will apply…
CDC updates PPE recommendations for COVID-19
Editor's Note The Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) on February 12 updated it personal protective equipment (PPE) recommendations for healthcare personnel. Who needs PPE? Patients with confirmed or possible COVID-19 infection should wear a facemask during medical evaluations. Healthcare personnel should adhere to standard, contact, and airborne precautions,…
FDA: Coronavirus hasn’t led to drug, device shortages, but situation fluid
Editor's Note The Food & Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Stephen Hahn says there have been no drug or medical device shortages reported in the US so far amid the coronavirus outbreak, but the situation remains fluid, the February 7 Politico reports. The FDA has pulled its inspectors from China, and…
CDC updates guidance for healthcare personnel possibly exposed to the coronavirus
Editor's Note The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on February 8 updated its guidance for risk assessment and management of healthcare personnel possibly exposed in a healthcare setting to patients with the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV). The first confirmed transmission from person-to-person in the US was reported January 30,…
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