Editor's Note Despite high rates of patients discharged with cardioprotective medications, the long-term burden of postoperative myocardial infarction (MI) after major vascular surgery is substantial, with a high mortality rate in the following year, this study finds. Of 26,231 vascular surgery patients analyzed, factors linked to an increased risk of postoperative…

Read More

Editor's Note Bariatric surgery provides more benefits for obese patients than weight loss; it also reverses subclinical heart dysfunction, finds this study presented December 5 at EuroEcho 2019, a scientific congress of the European Society of Cardiology in Vienna, Austria. The study included 38 obese patients who had bariatric surgery…

Read More

Editor's Note More than 2.8 million antibiotic-resistant infections occur in the US each year, resulting in more than 35,000 deaths, according to a new “Antibiotic Resistance Threats in the United States 2019” report from the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC). The CDC also notes that 223,900 cases of…

Read More

Editor's Note Duty hour reform had no significant effect on 30-day mortality achieved by new vs experienced surgeons, but there was an increase in resources needed for patient care after reform, this study finds. A total of 1,483,074 Medicare patients having general and orthopedic surgery were analyzed before and after…

Read More

Editor's Note In this study, the most important data-use practice associated with successful implementation of enhanced recovery pathways (ERPs) was data feedback to frontline providers of process and outcome measures. Of 140 hospitals analyzed, 52% reported previous ERP implementation, with wide variations in data-use practices. Feedback of process and outcome…

Read More

Editor's Note Care coordination strategies were found to be associated with high overall hospital quality star ratings from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) in this study. A total of 710 general acute care noncritical access hospitals that received star ratings and responded to the 2015 American Hospital…

Read More

Editor's Note In this study, a software app that tracks perioperative controlled substance use and is integrated into the electronic health and pharmacy records and database systems was associated with a decrease in management errors. This analysis includes data on missing controlled substance medications, controlled substance kits, and witness return…

Read More

Editor's Note The Joint Commission on November 20 announced an update to the book, “Planning, Design, and Construction of Health Care Facilities,” which was developed in partnership with the American Institute of Architects Academy of Architecture for Health (AIA/AAH). This 4th edition includes: Eight new case studies that highlight design challenges,…

Read More

Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on November 19 updated the device failure associated with Getinge’s Maquet/Datascope Intra-aortic Balloon Pumps (IABPs) in a letter to health care providers. Since 2017, the FDA has received more than 75 reports of the IABPs shutting down while running on battery. Five…

Read More

Editor's Note Even minor surgical procedures are associated with high risks for mortality in patients who are frail, finds this study. In this retrospective analysis of 432,828 patients in the Veterans Administration Surgical Quality Improvement Program, frailty was associated with increased 30-, 90-, and 180-day mortality across all levels of…

Read More