Editor's Note Almost 200 healthcare organizations sent letters to Congress urging members to restore funding for the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). The House Appropriations Committee in June voted to eliminate the research agency, and the Senate Appropriations Committee proposed a 35% cut to AHRQ’s budget. The letters…

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Editor's Note The amount of propofol required for general anesthesia varies widely among patients, and some may be able to receive a lower dose than usually administered, according to a study presented at the Anesthesiology 2015 annual meeting in San Diego. The amount of propofol required to produce unconsciousness was…

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Editor's Note Compared to married patients, those who were divorced, separated, or widowed had a 40% greater chance of dying or developing a functional disability in the first 2 years after cardiac surgery, in this study. Characterizing the association between marital status and postoperative function may be useful for counseling…

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Editor's Note Resident involvement in surgery is associated with comparable patient morbidity and lower mortality outcomes than procedures without residents, this study finds. The analysis used data from the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (ACS NSQIP). The findings provide a reassuring answer to patients, attending surgeons,…

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Editor's Note The American Nurses Association (ANA) is urging all RNs to get the seasonal influenza (flu) vaccination and to advise their patients to get vaccinated also. Vaccination is the safest way to protect patients and the public from flu transmission while providing care, the ANA says. The ANA’s position…

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Editor's Note The American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) and Premier, Inc, will extend their national learning collaborative to improve inpatient and outpatient care for surgical patients for an additional 2 years. ASA chose Premier in 2014 to develop a learning collaborative to implement the Perioperative Surgical Home (PSH) model of…

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Urinary tract infections are the most common type of healthcare-associated infection reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Healthcare Safety Network. Of urinary tract infections acquired in the hospital, approximately 75% are associated with a urinary catheter. With the increased scrutiny of catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTIs)…

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Three new studies on reducing urinary tract infections (UTIs) were reported at the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (ACS NSQIP) conference in July. Researchers identified several process changes that, once implemented, brought down infection rates. Each study and its findings are described below.   The S.T.O.P.…

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Editor's Note Diabetes is an independent risk factor for surgical site infections (SSIs) for multiple surgical procedures, this study finds. A meta-analysis of 94 studies found that diabetic patients having surgery were 50% more likely to develop SSIs compared to patients without diabetes. Diabetes has been a recognized risk factor…

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Editor's Note One in 20 perioperative medication administrations included a medication error and/or adverse drug event in this prospective study. Of 277 surgical procedures with 3,671 medication administrations evaluated, 193 involved a medication error and/or adverse drug event. A total of 32 (20.9%) of the errors had little potential for…

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