Editor's Note This study by researchers at the University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora, examines preoperative risk factors, operative variables, and postoperative complications associated with 30-day mortality after outpatient surgery. A total of 2,822,789 patients in the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program database were included…
Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration (FDA), on August 30, identified the recall by Hamilton Medical of its HAMILTON-C1, C2, C3, and T1 ventilators as Class I, the most serious. The recall was initiated because of software issues that may cause the ventilators to stop without notice. There have…
Editor's Note This study from the Minneapolis VA Healthcare System finds that intraoperative stress in surgical teams is common and has multiple sources, including adverse events. Researchers conducted 28 interviews with surgical team members on intraoperative stress and emotional and behavioral responses to stressors. The researchers then identified themes in…
Editor's Note This study by nurse researchers at Hackensack Meridian Jersey Shore University Medical Center, Neptune, and Hackensack Meridian Health, Edison, New Jersey, finds that a nature-themed recharge room helped reduce healthcare worker (HCW) stress and anxiety. A total of 160 HCWs who used the recharge room and 131 who…
Editor's Note According to this annual report from the AMN Healthcare’s Physician Solutions division (formerly known as Merritt Hawkins), titled "2023 Review of Physician and Advanced Practitioner Recruiting Incentives" and published on July 24, the average "starting salaries for physicians have rebounded from the COVID-19 pandemic," an AMN Healthcare August…
Editor's Note This study from Trinity Health, Ann Arbor, Michigan, compares prepandemic surgical site infection (SSI) rates before reusing personal protective equipment (PPE), to pandemic SSI rates after reusing PPE in trauma surgical patients. A total of 48,987 patients were included in the analysis, with half in the postpandemic group.…
Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration (FDA), on August 23, identified the recall by Draeger Medical of its Carina Sub-Acute Care Ventilators as Class I, the most serious. The recall was initiated because of the presence of contaminants in the device’s airpath. The contaminants exceed acceptable levels if the…
Editor's Note This study led by researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham examines the associations between sociodemographic factors and the incidence of postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV) and clinician adherence to PONV prophylaxis protocols. A total of 8,384 patients were included in the analysis. When PONV prophylaxis protocols…
Editor's Note In this study, researchers from the University of California, San Francisco, examine the feasibility of transitioning back to reusable surgical gowns and the corresponding cost savings and reductions in solid waste. Disposable surgical gowns were replaced with polyester reusable surgical gowns with AAMI level III barrier protection that…
Editor's Note The US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) announced that it is seeking proposals through September 7 to help fund and develop cybersecurity technologies for healthcare systems, clinics, and healthcare-related devices, the August 17 WIRED reports. The Digital Health Security…