Editor's Note In this survey, most respondents chose surgical rather than nonsurgical treatment for acute appendicitis. Of 1,728 respondents, 85.8% chose laparoscopic appendectomy, 4.9% chose open appendectomy, and 9.4% chose antibiotics alone as treatments for themselves. For their child, 79.4% chose laparoscopic appendectomy, 6.1% chose open appendectomy, and 14.5% chose…

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Editor's Note The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services on January 11 issued a proposal to modify its national coverage determination for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to include patients who have implanted cardiac devices. Proposed changes include the expansion of coverage for patients with cardiac devices that are approved or…

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Editor's Note Dissemination of low-cost patient education brochures improved disposal of unused opioids after surgery, this study finds. The study involved 334 patients−164 who did not receive the brochure and 170 who did receive it. Patients who received the brochure informing them of appropriate methods for disposal were twice as…

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Editor's Note The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on January 5 updated its data on healthcare-associated infections (HAIs). Central line-associated bloodstream infections (CLABSIs) have dropped 50% since 2008. Catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTIs) have had consistent year-to-year decreases, especially since those caused by yeast were deleted from the…

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Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on January 11 classified the recall by Edwards LifeSciences (Irvine, California) of its Certitude Delivery System as Class I, the most serious. The system is used for delivery of the Edwards SAPIEN 3 transcatheter aortic heart valve. The recall was issued because…

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Editor's Note The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) on January 9 announced a new “Safe Transitions Toolkit” for clinical staff working in ambulatory care settings. The toolkit is designed to help staff actively engage patients and their care partners to prevent errors during care transitions. The toolkit includes…

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Editor's Note Complete handover of intraoperative anesthesia care was significantly linked to adverse postoperative outcomes in this Canadian study. In this analysis of 313,066 adult patients having major surgery, complete intraoperative handover of anesthesia care, compared with no handover, was significantly associated with a higher risk of a composite of…

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Editor's Note The Joint Commission on January 10 announced that three new requirements for maternal status assessment and documentation will become effective July 1, 2018, for accredited hospitals and critical access hospitals that offer obstetric services, specifically labor and delivery. The new requirements were designed to: Document or assess the…

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Editor's Note Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Scott Gottlieb, MD, on January 4 issued a statement, updating the continued efforts to mitigate the IV saline and amino acids for injection shortages caused by Hurricane Maria. The FDA expects the IV saline shortage to improve in early 2018. Just before…

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Editor's Note The UW [University of Washington]-IPASS standardized handoff curriculum improves provider preparedness and workflow in the ICU, this study finds. The intent of UW-IPASS is to standardized and improve clinician handoffs through the use of a mnemonic and electronic medical record tool that ensures communication of essential information. UW-IPASS…

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