Safe postop patient recovery: A day in the PACU leader role
Critical assessment and rapid response are essentials skills for perioperative staff members, and that goes double for perioperative leadership. Patient-centered leadership is a must. Like the OR, the postanesthesia care unit (PACU, formerly referred to as the “recovery room”) is a critical care area plagued by an influx of new…
Study data supports less radical cervical cancer surgery alternative
Editor's Note New research supports fertility preservation with cone biopsy as a viable, less radical option for to surgery in patients with early, low-risk cervical cancer, according to a report published March 18 in MedPage Today. Presented at the Society of Gynecologic Oncology annual meeting, the findings from the Gynecologic…
FDA updates warning about plastic syringes made in China
Editor's Note An ongoing US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) evaluation of plastic syringes made in China reveals that quality problems are more widespread than initially believed, the agency reported on March 19. The update to an original November 23 safety notice recommends the following action to alleviate potential quality…
Study: Postoperative delirium less likely with ephedrine than phenylephrine
Editor's Note Using phenylephrine as an intraoperative vasopressor could lead to higher risk of postoperative delirium compared to ephedrine, according to findings published in the April issue of Anesthesiology. Posted online last September, these findings confirm researchers’ original hypothesis. “The treatment of intraoperative hypotension with phenylephrine may impair cerebral perfusion…
Lack of primary care physicians tied to emergency surgeries
Editor's Note Research shows that Americans who live in areas with a limited number of primary care doctors and nurse practitioners are at a greater risk for emergency surgeries and complications. The findings were published March 4 in the journal Health Affairs. For the study, researchers looked at Medicare patient…
Brain monitoring helps understand, combat cognitive overload in surgeons
Editor's Note Researchers at Imperial College London are using noninvasive brain monitoring to understand the stressors contributing to cognitive overload in surgeons as well as how to combat the condition. The Guardian reported the news on March 2. The monitoring technique, called functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS), measures neural activity in…
Survey reveals broad impact of Change Healthcare cyberattack
Editor's Note The recent cyberattack on Change Healthcare created a financial impact for the lion’s share of US hospitals surveyed recently by the American Hospital Association, with more than half reporting “significant or serious” impact and three of every four also reporting direct impacts on patient care. These data reflect…
New gel protects tissue during gastrointestinal surgery
Editor's Note Researchers at MIT have developed a new gel called GastroShield to help prevent gastrointestinal bleeding during and after surgery performed during colonoscopy screenings. Advanced Materials published the findings on February 29. Colonoscopy screenings—undergone by some 20 million Americans each year—often result in doctors finding and removing polyps. These…
Study links nurses’ intention to quit, patient mortality
Editor's Note A study published March 8 in the journal Health Policy finds that nurses’ intention to leave the profession has a significant association with patient mortality. Researchers looked at data from approximately 37,000 patients aged 50 and older admitted to 15 public hospitals in Italy in 2015 for…
Many hospitals neglect best-practice suicide prevention
Editor's Note A study from the Joint Commission found that more than 25 percent of hospitals have not adopted any of the four policies identified by the organization as best-practice, evidence-based discharge practices for preventing suicide in at-risk patients. According to a March 12 report on the implementation gap…
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