Predictive model for extended PACU stay after outpatient surgery
Editor's Note In this study, researchers developed a predictive model that can help identify patients at higher risk for prolonged postanesthesia care unit (PACU) stay after outpatient surgery. Data on 4,151 patients at the University of California, San Diego Healthcare Systems, from 2014 to 2015, was split into a training…
AAAHC releases new Opioid Stewardship Toolkit
Editor's Note The Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care (AAAHC) on May 8 announced the release of its new Opioid Stewardship Toolkit to help providers review and assess the volume and length of opioid prescriptions and dosages to mitigate risk of patient overdose and death. AAAHC created the toolkit to…
Association of frailty with postop outcomes, resource use
Editor's Note After emergency general surgery, frailty is associated with increased rates of mortality, discharge to an institution, and resource use, this Canadian study finds. Of 77,184 patients analyzed, 19,779 were frail. Death within 1 year of surgery occurred in 33.5% of frail patients, compared with 19.8% of nonfrail patients. Risk…
New software program notifies physicians of readmissions
Editor's Note Murmur software helps bridge communication gaps by sending information from an electronic health record, to a hospital's scheduling software, to a physician's cell phone if a patient is readmitted within 5 days, according to Medscape’s coverage of a study presented May 4 at the Society of Hospital Medicine’s…
Effect of Medicare’s Nonpayment Program on HACs
Editor's Note Medicare’s Nonpayment Program of 2008, which withholds hospital reimbursement for costs related to hospital-acquired conditions (HACs), was associated with a declined in the incidence of selected HACs, and the decline was greater in hospitals with a higher Medicare utilization ratio (MUR), this study finds. Of 867,584 Medicare patients…
FDA: HeartWare VAD splice kit recalled
Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on May 5 announced that Medtronic is recalling its splice kit used to repair the driveline of the HeartWare Ventricular Assist Device (VAD). The kit was recalled because of a design problem that prevents the repaired cable assembly from withstanding excessive force…
Pulmonary complications after outpatient surgery linked to BMI
Editor's Note Obese Class II and III were associated with an independent risk of pulmonary complications after outpatient surgery in this study. Of 444,532 patients included in this analysis, there were 996 all cause pulmonary complications. Binary logistic regression identified body mass index (BMI) as an independent predictor of a…
VA expands quality tool to include data for all VA medical centers
Editor's Note The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) on May 1 expanded its “Access and Quality in VA Healthcare” tool to include inpatient quality data for all VA medical centers, the May 2 AHA News Now reports. The tool, released last month, shows how VA centers compare with regional and…
FDA: Safety alert for Medtronic’s NavLock Tracker
Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on May 3 issued a Safety Alert for Medtronic’s NavLock Tracker. Medtronic has received 196 medical device reports that included two patient deaths after procedures in which non-Medtronic instruments were used with the NavLock Tracker. The NavLock Tracker enables navigation of Medtronic…
FDA: Class I recall of Medtronic HVAD controllers, DC adapters
Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on April 18 designated the recall by Medtronic of its HVAD (HeartWare [left] ventricular assist device) system controllers and DC adapters as Class I, the most serious. Medtronic is issuing an updated controller and has begun to remove current HVAD controllers. The…
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