Editor's Note After 7 years, ANSI/AAMI has updated its standard for cleaning and storing medical devices, such as flexible bronchoscopes and various endoscopes. The updated standard, “ANSI/AAMI ST91:2021, Flexible and semi-rigid endoscope processing in health care facilities,” addresses new technologies and concerns about device cleanliness and patient safety. “ANSI/AAMI ST91:2021…

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Editor's Note In this survey by the American Nurses Foundation, published March 1, 63% of nurses younger than 35 years said they intend to leave or are considering leaving the profession. A total of 12,694 nurses were surveyed. Other findings for nurses under 35 years of age, include: 46% said…

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Editor's Note On March 1, the American Hospital Association (AHA) submitted a letter to the House Energy and Commerce Committee urging Congress to consider and address the challenges the healthcare workforce is currently facing. As healthcare workers enter the third year of the pandemic, AHA likened current challenges to “a…

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Editor's Note Three American hospitals top Newsweek’s annual World’s Best Hospitals list, published on March 2. These hospitals have learned to adapt to new and existing challenges quickly during medicine's 2-year war against COVID-19, Newsweek says. The top three are: Mayo Clinic-Rochester, Rochester, Minnesota Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, Ohio Massachusetts General…

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Editor's Note This study by researchers at the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, finds that patient treatment at hospitals dedicated to COVID-19 care was associated with lower in-hospital mortality. Of 5,504 patients with COVID-19 analyzed, 2,077 were treated at one of two COVID-19 dedicated hospitals, and 3,427 were treated at other…

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Editor's Note In a study published by JAMA Surgery in December 2021, the association between weight loss resulting from a metabolic surgical procedure performed pre-pandemic and less severe COVID-19 infection was analyzed in patients with obesity. Patients who underwent a procedure pre-pandemic, lost weight, and then contracted COVID-19 saw better…

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Editor's Note The International Council of Nurses (ICN) and its more than 130 members around the world, on February 25, issued a statement saying they stand in solidarity with the people, nurses, and healthcare workers caught up in the conflict in Ukraine. In the statement, former American Nurses Association president…

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Editor's Note OR Manager recently reported on the new Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommendations on when masks should be worn by the public. According to the new guidelines, the CDC now recommends the general public wear masks only in communities with a "high" level of COVID-19, which…

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Editor's Note The American College of Rheumatology and the American Association of Hip and Knee Surgeons, on February 28, released a summary of their updated guideline for the “Perioperative Management of Antirheumatic Medication in Patients with Rheumatic Diseases Undergoing Elective Total Hip or Total Knee Arthroplasty.” The guideline, which is…

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Editor's Note The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), on February 25, issued new recommendations on when masks should be worn by the public. Under the new guidelines: In communities with “low” or “medium” levels of COVID-19, masks are not recommended for the general public, which is now more…

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