Editor's Note The Food & Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Stephen Hahn says there have been no drug or medical device shortages reported in the US so far amid the coronavirus outbreak, but the situation remains fluid, the February 7 Politico reports. The FDA has pulled its inspectors from China, and…

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Editor's Note The use of an intravascular microaxial left ventricular assist device (LVAD) vs an intra-aortic balloon pump (IABP) in patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) complicated by cardiogenic shock was associated with worse in-hospital clinical outcomes in this study. Of 3,360 propensity-matched patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention for AMI,…

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Editor's Note The implementation of an aviation-style computerized surgical safety checklist displayed on a large, centrally located screen and operated by the anesthesia provider improved checklist performance in this study. A total of 671 cases were observed before and 547 cases after implementation of the computerized checklist system. The proportion…

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Editor's Note From 2005 to 2017, use of 12 infection prevention practices significantly increased in US Veterans Affairs (VA) hospitals, and the adoption of many practices was higher than in non-VA hospitals, this study finds. A total of 320 surveys were completed by infection preventionists in VA hospitals. Between 92%…

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Editor's Note The Joint Commission on February 5 announced that a new performance improvement (PI) Accelerate PI dashboard is now available for accredited hospitals. It is posted in the “Resources and Tools” section of the Joint Commission Connect extranet site. The dashboard, which is intended to be a springboard for…

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Editor's Note In this Canadian study, older patients with frailty were significantly more likely to die or experience a new disability within 90 days after surgery. This prospective multicenter study included 702 patients, 65 years or older, having elective noncardiac surgery; 645 patients completed follow up. Frailty status was determined…

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Editor's Note In this study, an outpatient fracture pathway greatly improved the efficiency and timeliness of care, and it reduced costs. A total of 187 patients during the preintervention period and 308 patients during the intervention period were eligible for the ambulatory pathway. Those managed as outpatients increased from 1.6%…

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Editor's Note The Joint commission on January 29 announced a new R3 report detailing changes to the Advanced Certification for Total Hip and Total Knee Replacement program. Effective July 1, there will be 11 new and 11 revised elements of performance (EPs) that will be applicable to all accredited ambulatory…

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Editor's Note Medicare may be overpaying surgeons for postoperative care they provide to patients, according to a new Rand Corporation analysis in the January 23 New England Journal of Medicine. The authors of the analysis suggest that federal officials should incorporate ways to more objectively measure the amount of postoperative…

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Editor's Note The timing of total knee arthroplasty (TKA) is important to optimize its benefits, but 90% of patients are waiting too long to have it and getting less benefits, and some 25% of patients are having it prematurely when the benefits are  minimal, this study finds. Of 3,417 knees…

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