Editor's Note Sudden, unexpected shutdown and restart prompted the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to designate a class 1 recall—the most severe category reserved for serious risk of injury or death—for Abbot’s HeartMate Mobile Power Unit, which powers system controllers for the HeartMate 3 Left Ventricular Assist System (LVAS)…

Read More

Editor's Note Recent reporting from Fierce Healthcare highlights two notable technology advances that promise to impact surgical patients and caregivers:  an AI-driven blood pressure monitoring system and a remote-controlled endovascular robotics platform. The first development, from BD, is designed to help clinicians anticipate and manage dangerous blood pressure drops during…

Read More

Editor's Note For some surgeons, treating patients goes hand-in-hand with healing the environment. Consider an April 23 report in Medical Xpress. Detailing sustainability efforts at Chicago’s Rush University Medical Center by pediatric surgeon Ami Shah, MD, and her colleague Brian Gulack, MD, the article showcases how rethinking everyday surgical routines…

Read More

Editor's Note Oregon lawmakers are advancing legislation that would ban artificial intelligence (AI) systems from using the title “nurse,” drawing strong support from professional nursing organizations. Chief Healthcare Executive reported the news April 16. As detailed in the article, the bill seeks to preserve the integrity of the nursing profession…

Read More

Editor's Note Conventional cleaning protocols fail to remove visible soil and debris from lumened surgical instruments, raising urgent concerns about patient safety and sterilization efficacy. That’s the central finding of a study published February 11 in The American Journal of Infection Control, which used borescopes to inspect the lumens of…

Read More

Editor's Note The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) warned of safety risks resulting from manufacturing issues with two varieties of intravascular catheter—Conavi Medical’s Novasight Hybrid line and BD’s PowerPICC intravascular devices—in separate early alerts April 18. In one reported incident, the sheath of a Novasight Hybrid catheter—a device used…

Read More

Editor's Note Tariff-fueled market volatility is jeopardizing the investment returns that nonprofit hospitals rely on to bolster liquidity, manage debt, and weather ongoing operational headwinds, according to an April 16 report in Fierce Healthcare. As detailed in the article, hospitals face a dual threat: higher direct costs on supplies and…

Read More

Editor's Note Current US CT scan practices could lead to approximately 103,000 future cancers—nearly 5% of all new annual diagnoses—if utilization and radiation dosing patterns persist, according to a risk modeling study published April 14 in JAMA Internal Medicine. Authors emphasized that although CT is often lifesaving, its risks are…

Read More

Editor's Note Advances in organ transplant research and technology have been in the spotlight for medical media outlets for much of April, which also happens to be National Donate Life Month (a time dedicated to raising awareness about organ, eye, and tissue donation). For example, CBS News published an investigation…

Read More

Editor's Note One cyberattack can unravel years of work and financial stability for a surgical practice. That’s the central warning in an April 9 commentary by Lenworth M. Jacobs Jr., MD, MPH, FACS, professor of surgery at the University of Connecticut and director of the Trauma Institute at Hartford Hospital.…

Read More