Editor's Note This international, multicenter study finds that dedicated COVID-19-free surgical pathways should be established to provide safe elective cancer surgery during the pandemic. Researchers from more than 130 countries examined data on 9,171 patients in 55 countries from the start of the pandemic to the middle of April 2020.…

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Editor's Note In this study, researchers from the University of Bristol in the UK, find that intubation and extubation of patients during general anesthesia may produce only a fraction of the aerosols previously thought, much less than that produced during a regular cough. The researchers conducted real-time, high-resolution environmental monitoring…

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Editor's Note In this Letter to the Editor, physicians from the Department of Anaesthesia and Intensive Care Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh, India, address the problem of treating a healthcare worker (HCW) who passes out in the OR during a surgical procedure on a COVID-19 patient. The…

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Editor's Note Dozens of nursing homes and hospitals ignored official guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to separate COVID-19 patients from those without the virus, the September 10 Kaiser Health News reports. A Kaiser Health News investigation found that nursing homes and hospitals ignored (CDC) guidelines…

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Editor's Note In this international meta-analysis, researchers found that the administration of systemic corticosteroids was associated with lower 28-day all-cause mortality in critically ill COVID-19 patients. The meta-analysis included seven randomized studies from 12 countries that involved 1,703 critically ill COVID-19 patients. Patients had been randomized to receive systemic dexamethasone,…

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Editor's Note The Joint Commission announced September 9 that it has refreshed the Accelerate PI Dashboard Report data for accredited hospitals, critical access hospitals, and nursing care centers. The reports reflect the most recent and available external data from CMS’ Hospital Compare and Nursing Home Compare websites as well as…

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Editor's Note This Italian study finds that patients treated with hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) had a 30% lower in-hospital mortality rate compared to those not receiving this treatment. Researchers examined outcomes of 3,451 patients in 33 COVID-19-focused hospitals throughout Italy. Of these, 2,634 patients received HCQ. Timing of the first dose after…

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Editor's Note The Joint Commission on August 26 announced that nominations are now being accepted for the 2020 John M. Eisenberg Patient Safety and Quality Awards. The annual awards recognize major achievements by individuals and organizations to improve patient safety and healthcare quality. Submissions for the awards are encouraged for…

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Leaders at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) Health System in Richmond started the journey to become an Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) hospital in 2016 with the following problem statement: Across surgical specialties, and regardless of superior surgical technique, perioperative care, and anesthesia care, patients can experience extended length of hospital…

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Editor's Note The 7-day moving average of new COVID-19 cases in the US, a key metric for gauging the severity of the disease, dropped below 50,000 on  August 18 for the first time since early July, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)  reports. On August 19, the CDC…

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