Complications higher with regional anesthesia for hip fractures
Editor's Note In this study, patients having hip fracture surgery under regional anesthesia had significantly more complications than patients who received general anesthesia. Spinal anesthesia had the highest complication rate (19.6%), followed by general anesthesia (17.9%), and regional nerve blocks (12.6%). After combining regional nerve block and spinal anesthesia patients,…
Barriers to handoff communication in ASCs
Editor's Note Patient handoffs in ambulatory surgery centers are commonly interrupted by distractions that put patients at risk, and nearly 50% might be preventable, this study finds. Handoffs with communication distractions were rated lower in overall quality and associated with a greater number of errors (ie, transfer of incorrect information).…
FDA: Class I recall of Medtronic’s Covidien Shiley pediatric trach tubes
Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration on June 15 issued a Class I recall, the most serious, of certain Covidien Shiley neonatal and pediatric tracheostomy tubes by Medtronic. The recalled tubes were formed with a wider-angle bend than standard models. The company has received reports that patients switching tubes…
AANA applauds Washington Post article on cell phone use in the OR
Editor's Note In a response to the July 13 Washington Post article questioning whether cell phones belong in the OR, the American Association of Nurse Anesthetists (AANA) applauded the Post for covering the pros and cons of the issue. AANA president, Sharon Pearce, CRNA, MSN, notes that the AANA supports…
Hospital volume linked to postop complications in pediatric urology
Editor's Note Urological procedures performed in children at non-high volume hospitals were associated with a higher overall rate of National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (NSQIP) identified postoperative complications, compared with high volume hospitals (11.6% vs 9.3%), in this study. After adjusting for confounding factors, patients at non-high volume hospitals were…
Surgery linked to improved survival rates for ulcerative colitis patients
Editor's Note Ulcerative colitis patients who have surgery to treat their disease live longer than those who are treated with medications, this study finds. Analyzing Medicare/Medicaid data on nearly 33,000 patients with ulcerative colitis, mortality rates were 34/1,000 person-years for colectomy and 54/1,000 person-years for medical therapy, thus showing that…
New clinical pathway uncovers OSA
Editor's Note Researchers at Thomas Jefferson University and Hospitals, Philadelphia, have created a clinical pathway to identify obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) in hospitalized patients with known risks. The pathway involved a questionnaire and overnight pulse-oximetry testing. Patients with a high oxygen desaturation index were recommended to undergo overnight polysomnography. Of those…
Medtronic to buy RF Surgical’s sponge tracking system for $235 M
Editor's Note Medtronic has agreed to buy RF Surgical Systems for $235 million. The technology embeds radio frequency tags in surgical sponges, towels, and other products to help track and prevent them from being retained in the patient after surgical procedures. Medtronic agreed to pay $235 million to buy…
Are guidelines needed for cell phones in the OR?
Editor's Note There are no federal regulations or quality measures that address cell phone use in the OR, but some say the time for clear-cut guidelines has come. They cite errors and lax safety procedures that have resulted from physicians and nurses distracted by cell phone use. But others point…
SHEA, IDSA update strategies to prevent SSIs
Editor's Note The Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America and the Infectious Diseases Society of America have updated the 2008 Strategies to Prevent Surgical Site Infections in Acute care Hospitals. The evidence-based recommendations include 15 strategies for SSI prevention and a special section on implementation that emphasizes a team-based approach…
Free Daily News
- Study: COVID-19's impact on oncological surgery offers lessons for future crises
- Study links pandemic stress to persistent increases in nursing-sensitive quality indicators
- Save the date for the 2025 OR Business Management Conference
- Study: Education, exercise improve knee OA with or without prior surgery
- Study: Early surgery outperforms endoscopy for long-term pancreatitis
- Study: Blood thinner, NSAID combination raises bleeding risk
- Hospital financial report predicts stability, high cybersecurity costs for 2025
- IV fluid shortage drives innovation in hospital hydration practices
- FDA Class 1 recalls target anesthesia workstations, ambulatory infusion pumps, ventilators
- Five leadership lessons from an ASC CEO