Daily preop opioid use linked to worse outcomes after scoliosis surgery
Editor's Note Daily narcotic use before adult spinal deformity (ASD) surgery was associated with poorer outcomes 2 years postoperatively, this study finds. In this multicenter analysis of 575 patients, 425 had complete 2-year follow-up. A total of 44% reported daily preoperative narcotic use. Compared with non-daily users, daily narcotic users…
FDA alert: Coastal Meds recalls all sterile products
Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on April 13 announced the recall by Coastal Meds (Biloxi, Mississippi) of all nonexpired products marketed as sterile because of visible particles in some of the drug vials for injection and poor sterile production practices. The FDA on April 5 requested the…
Effect perioperative ß-blockade with increasing patient age
Editor's Note No difference was found in the effect of perioperative ß-blockade (metoprolol continuous release 200 mg for 30 days) versus placebo on postoperative outcomes between older and younger patients in this study (POISE [perioperative ischemia evaluation] trial). In this analysis of 8,351 patients from 190 centers in 23 countries,…
FDA: Premier Pharmacy Labs recalls certain sterile injectable products
Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on April 12 announced the recall by Premier Pharmacy Labs (Weeki Wachee, Florida) of certain lots of sterile injectable products because of a potential lack of sterility assurance. The products include morphine sulfate (2 mg/mL and 3 mg/mL), hydromorphone HCL 1 mg/mL,…
FDA: Recall of Acrodose Plus and PL systems by Haemonetics
Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on April 13 announced the recall by Haemonetics (Braintree, Massachusetts) of certain lots of its Acrodose Plus and PL Systems because the company has received reports of low pH readings for platelets stored in CLX HP bags. In some instances the drop…
Hysterectomy complication rates after FDA warning against power morcellation
Editor's Note In this study, 30-day complications rates increased after the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) warned against the use of power morcellation in women undergoing hysterectomy for benign gynecologic indications. In a cohort of 75,487 women who had hysterectomies, statistically and clinically significant increases in major (1.9% to 2.4%)…
FDA: System 83 Plus AERs complete validation testing
Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on April 10 notified healthcare facilities that Custom Ultrasonics (Ivyland, Pennsylvania) has completed validation testing of the System 83 Plus (ie, System 83 Plus, System 83 Plus 2, and System 83 Plus 9) automated endoscope reprocessors (AERs) with specific duodenoscopes. The FDA…
ECRI Institute announces new Culture of Safety Assessment for Health IT Companies
Editor's Note The ECRI Institute and the Partnership for Health IT Patient Safety (ie, a multistakeholder collaborative convened and operated by the ECRI Institute) announced April 10 the new INsight® Culture of Safety Assessment for Health IT Companies. The new program allows health IT developers to assess safety culture with…
Civilian prehospital tourniquet use saves lives, limbs
Editor's Note Though still underused, this study found civilian prehospital tourniquet application tied to a six-fold reduction in mortality in peripheral vascular injuries. The Texas Tourniquet Study Group analyzed 1,026 patients with vascular injuries of the arms or legs admitted to 11 Level I trauma centers in Texas from 2011…
Joint Commission: Zero harm is achievable through high reliability
Editor's Note Joint Commission president Mark R. Chassin, MD, FACP, says he doesn’t want healthcare organizations to just imagine a day of zero harm, he wants them to achieve it, the Joint Commission announced on April 4. Dr Chassin talked about “Leading the Way to Zero” in an article for…
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