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Editor's Note A new outbreak of infections outside the US have been tied to a duodenoscope Olympus modified last year to reduce the risk of transmitting bacteria between patients, the March 22 Los Angeles Times reports. The outbreak of Klebsiella pneumoniae in five patients occurred at the end of December…
Editor's Note A proposed international standard, “WK33006, Guide for Impingement Testing of Total Disc Prostheses,” being developed by ASTM’s committee on medical and surgical materials and devices could help manufacturers improve designs for total disc replacements. The proposed standard will guide manufacturers through the process of characterizing “impingement behavior” of…
Editor's Note Providing surgeons with individualized cost feedback and surgical supply costs was associated with significantly reduced surgical supply costs, without negatively affecting patient outcomes in this study. The study involved 63 surgeons in an intervention group and 186 surgeons in a control group. Surgeons in the intervention group received…
Editor's Note Lumbar spinal fusion performed within 3 months after lumbar epidural steroid injections was associated with a statistically significant increase in postoperative infections in this study. The association was not found when surgery was performed more than 3 months after steroid injections. Of 88,540 patients analyzed, infection rates were:…
Editor's Note For the National Patient Safety Foundation’s Patient Safety Awareness Week, March 12 to 18, certified registered nurse anesthetists (CRNAs) are urging surgical, obstetric, and chronic pain patients to learn about the risks and benefits of pain relief options available to them, including opioid and non-opioid treatments. Partnering with…
Editor's Note The Joint Commission and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced March 3 that they are collaborating on a project designed to adapt, enhance, and disseminate CDC guidelines related to infection prevention in ambulatory healthcare settings. The goal of the initiative, called “ADOPT (Adaptation and Dissemination Outpatient…
Editor's Note Robotic cholecystectomy was associated with greater operative times but with similar safety and outcomes as conventional laparoscopic cholecystectomy, in this study. The analysis included 13 studies involving 1,589 cholecystectomy patients (921 laparoscopic, 668 robotic). Operative time for the robot-assisted procedure was 128.0 minutes vs 115.3 minutes for laparoscopic.…
Editor's Note Healthgrades (Denver) on February 24 released its list of America’s 50 and 100 Best Hospitals for 2017. The top 50 represent 1% of all hospitals and are located in 22 states. California has the most at 10, followed by Illinois with 7. The top 100 hospitals are those…
Editor's Note The success rates of pediatric kidney transplants have significantly improved over the past 50 years, with young children now experiencing better long-term transplant success than adults, this study finds. Of 1,056 pediatric kidney transplant recipients analyzed, 85% were alive at 1 year after surgery 50 years ago, compared…
Editor's Note Implementation of a Perioperative Surgical Home (PSH) program for patients undergoing ambulatory laparoscopic cholecystectomy in a Kaiser Permanente practice model was associated with significantly reduced length of stay and unplanned hospital admission in this study. The analysis included 878 patients in the preimplementation period and 1,082 in the…
