Editor's Note In this study, researchers from the University of California, Los Angeles, and Kyoto University, Japan, found that the number of days per week US adults took 8,000 steps or more was linked to a lower risk of all-cause and cardiovascular mortality at 10 years. Of 3,101 study participants,…

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Editor's Note The World Health Organization, on March 28, announced the revision of it’s guidance for prioritizing the use of COVID-19 vaccines after the meeting of its Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization (SAGE). The guidance was revised to reflect that much of the population has either been vaccinated…

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Editor's Note This study by researchers from Veteran Affairs Boston finds that recent COVID-19 infection was not associated with risk of postoperative outcomes, regardless of timing within the previous 60 days. A total of 29,093 patients who had surgery at 123 hospitals were included in the analysis. Of 15,553 surgical…

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Editor's Note This German study finds that expectations and prior experiences were associated with increased adverse effect reports in individuals receiving their second COVID-19 vaccinations. Researchers collected data from 1,678 individuals receiving Pfizer BioNTech and Moderna mRNA vaccines. Severe adverse effect reports were higher in those: expecting a lower benefit…

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Editor's Note The Joint Commission, on March 22, announced that it is seeking input to a survey on the implementation and utilization of electronic clinical quality measures (eCQMs) to better assess the impact of prospective changes to data submission practices. This applies, in particular, to a healthcare organization’s readiness in…

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Editor's Note This prospective randomized trial by researchers at the University of California San Francisco  examines the health effects of coffee consumption on cardiac ectopy and arrhythmias, daily step counts, sleep minutes, and serum glucose levels. A total of 100 adults were fitted with a continuously recording electrocardiogram device, a…

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Editor's Note Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data show 1,706 COVID-19 deaths for the week ending March 15, the lowest number since March 25, 2020, according to the March 20 US News & World Report. COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations also continue to drop, with weekly infections at their lowest…

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Editor's Note With the demand for travel nurses rising significantly during the COVID-19 pandemic, some states are proposing measures to control what staffing agencies can charge healthcare facilities that use the temporary staff, the March 17 Kaiser Health News reports. Among 11 states proposing regulations: Missouri is calling for felony…

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Editor's Note Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra on March 15 amended the February 4, 2020, COVID-19 emergency use authorizations for: diagnostics for detection and/or diagnosis of COVID-19 personal respiratory protective equipment other medical devices including alternative products used as medical devices drug and biological products. These emergency…

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Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on March 17 identified the recall by Datascope/Getinge of certain Cardiosave Hybrid and Rescue Intra-Aortic Balloon Pumps (IABPs) as Class I, the most serious. The recall was initiated because the coiled cable connecting the display and base on some units may fail,…

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