Takeaways Although women comprise half the population, they were left out of medical research on major causes of death for both women and men—cancer, heart disease, and stroke—until 1990. Using surgical tools designed by men, for men can impact every aspect of a woman surgeon’s work, from learning new procedures…

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Inspecting surgical devices is a time-consuming process. However, diligently checking every instrument prior to sterilization is essential to ensuring safe, proper functioning. As the last people to see devices before they are used for patient care, sterile processing technicians must be thorough. Exterior surfaces should be inspected for flaws such…

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Editor's Note Contrary to previous findings, less-invasive percutaneous intervention combining fractional flow reserve (FFR)-guided percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) with transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) could be a viable alternative to surgery for patients with severe aortic stenosis (AS) and concomitant obstructive coronary artery disease (CAD). That’s according to the results…

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Editor's Note The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has designated the recall of Hologic Inc.’s BioZorb Marker a class 1, indicating a risk of serious injury or death. BioZorb is an implantable radiographic marker used to mark soft tissue (such as breast tissue) for future medical procedures. Provided sterile…

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Editor's Note The largest scale analysis so far available comparing surgical aortic valve replacement (SAVR) to longer-term percutaneous devices for transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) supports the comparable long-term safety and efficacy of the latter procedure. According to a May 15 report in Medical Xpress, the findings raise important considerations for valve…

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Editor's Note A joint letter from the American Medical Association (AMA) and more than 100 medical organizations asks Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra to confirm that providers do not bear responsibility for legal reporting requirements for information stolen in the Change Healthcare cyberattack, including personal patient data.…

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Editor's Note Only 46% of parents and 33% of teenagers believe receiving the latest COVID-19 vaccine was important, according to survey results presented by at a May 2-6 Pediatric Academic Societies Meeting in Toronto, Canada.   According to a May 9 Helio report on the findings, the survey is the…

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Editor's Note A $50 million initiative to develop cybersecurity tools for hospitals aims to protect providers and patients alike from ransomware, according to a May 20 report in Becker’s Health IT. The Universal PatchinG and Remediation for Autonomous DEfense, or UPGRADE, program was launched the same day by the Advanced Research…

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Editor's Note Building on previous evidence favoring thrombectomy even in high-risk cases, the prospective randomized LASTE trial finds the surgical procedure could reduce mortality and improve funcational outcomes in patients with acute stroke and large infarct of unrestricted size. Medpage Today reported the news May 8. Originally published in the…

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Editor's Note The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has classified recalls of Abbot’s HeartMate 3 Left Ventricular Assist System (LVAS) implant kits and Phillips Respironics' Trilogy Evo ventilators as class 1, the most serious category indicating risk of serious injury or death. Used while waiting for recovery, a transplant,…

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