Correlation of intraop staff movements, door openings with SSI risk
Editor's Note This multicenter study demonstrated an association between intraoperative staff movements and door openings with risk of surgical site infections (SSIs). In this study of 13 ORs in 10 hospitals, performing cardiac and total hip or knee replacement surgery, door openings were assessed by sensors fixed on the doors.…
Joint Commission offers accredited hospitals real-time quality metrics
Editor's Note The Joint Commission on May 14 announced that it is expanding its quality measure program to provide accredited hospitals with year-round, real-time access to quality measures without additional outside vendors. The Joint Commission can now use a single environment to specify, develop, test, and distribute clinical quality language…
Adherence to ERAS protocols associated with fewer postop complications
Editor's Note An increased in adherence to Enhanced Recovery after Surgery (ERAS) protocols was associated with a decrease in postoperative complications in this study. Of 2,084 patients analyzed, 566 had moderate to severe postoperative complications. The number of patients with moderate to severe complications was lower in the ERAS group…
CMS Physician Compare website lacks physician data
Editor's Note The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Physician Compare website contains quality information on just 23.3% of the more than 1 million physicians who care for Medicare patients, this study finds. A total of 76.6% of physician had no performance data, and almost none (99.7%) listed on…
Association between nurse work environment and outcomes
Editor's Note The nurse work environment is associated with the quality of nursing care, nurse job outcomes, patient outcomes, and patient satisfaction, this study finds. This meta-analysis of 17 articles that reported data from 2,677 hospitals, 141 nursing units, 165,024 nurses, and 1,368,420 patients, in 22 countries found consistent, significant…
National Nurses Week is May 6-12
Editor's Note National Nurses Week begins each year on May 6 and ends on May 12, Florence Nightingale’s birthday. National Nurses Week is celebrated annually to raise awareness of the important role nurses play in society. This year’s theme is “Four Million Reasons to Celebrate.” The American Nurses Association has…
Use of TAVR in low-risk patients
Editor's Note In this study of low-risk patients with severe aortic stenosis, outcomes were significantly better at 1 year follow-up with transcatheter aortic-valve replacement (TAVR) than surgical aortic-valve replacement. In 1,000 patients at 71 centers who were randomized to undergo either TAVR or surgical aortic-valve replacement, the rate of the…
Increased duration of surgical antimicrobial prophylaxis linked to adverse events
Editor's Note In this multi-center study, longer durations of surgical prophylaxis did not result in further reductions in surgical site infections (SSIs) but were associated with increasing adverse events. Of 79,058 surgical patients in the VA healthcare system, SSI was not associated with duration of prophylaxis, but odds of acute…
Conference keynote puts compassion at the heart of patient care
Compassion fatigue can come into play at any stage of nurses’ careers. Nursing is growing at a faster rate than other occupations, but it carries a high risk for burnout. Loss of job satisfaction, job-related distress, or perhaps exposure to too many traumatic events can threaten the ability of staff…
Expect the unexpected: How we recovered operations after Hurricane Harvey
Whatever your facility’s disaster management plan, it needs continual refinement to account for the differences between imagined and real scenarios. Hurricane Harvey, which hit Houston hard on Saturday, August 26, 2017, is a case in point. The storm brought more than 60 inches of rain within a couple of days,…
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- New studies, surgical feats advance organ transplant medicine
- Commentary: Cyberattacks threaten financial survival of surgical practices
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- Study: Systemic gender bias embedded in surgical practice
- Literature review: Endoscope disinfection failures highlight need for stronger sterilization practices
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