Editor's Note This retrospective, multicenter study from four hospitals in Wuhan, China, found that Novel Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) specific guidelines for emergency surgical procedures in patients with confirmed or suspected COVID-19 infection can effectively prevent cross-infection in the OR. The guidelines include: negative pressure ORs level 3 protective measures for…
Editor's Note The Food & Drug Administration (FDA) on February 27 identified the recall by King Systems of its King Vision Video Laryngoscope Adapter (size ½) as Class I, the most serious. The recall was initiated because all devices from the affected lots show a reversed image on the display,…
Editor's Note The use of an artificial intelligence (AI) early warning system, compared with standard care, resulted in less intraoperative hypotension in this preliminary study. This single-center, preliminary study from the Netherlands, which included 68 patients (intervention group, 34 and control group, 34) having elective noncardiac surgery, found that application…
Editor's Note Increased adherence to an Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) protocol after total hip arthroplasty (THA) and total knee arthroplasty (TKA) was associated with a decrease in postoperative complications in this study from Spain. However, only a few interventions were linked to decreased complications In this analysis of 6,146…
Editor's Note The implementation of an aviation-style computerized surgical safety checklist displayed on a large, centrally located screen and operated by the anesthesia provider improved checklist performance in this study. A total of 671 cases were observed before and 547 cases after implementation of the computerized checklist system. The proportion…
Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on February 4 identified the recall by GE Healthcare of its CARESCAPE Respiratory Modules and Airway Gas Option as Class I, the most serious. The recall was initiated because of a manufacturing issue that may cause the devices to display incorrect oxygen…
Editor's Note The Food & Drug Administration (FDA) on December 19, 2019, identified the recall by Smiths Medical ASD, Inc of its Medfusion 4000 Syringe Pumps as Class I, the most serious. The recall was initiated because of malfunctioning low-battery alarms, which may lead to an interruption of therapy. The…
Editor's Note Surgery patients overwhelmingly prefer pre-surgical safety checklists to be completed in front of them, contrary to what is thought by anesthesiologists, this Swiss study finds. In this trial, which included 110 anesthesiologists and 125 non-premedicated ear-nose-throat or maxillofacial surgery patients, the patients overwhelmingly agreed that anesthesiologists should use…
Editor's Note In this study, active cannabis use disorder was linked to an increased risk of postoperative myocardial infarction (MI). Researchers retrospectively analyzed 4,186,622 elective surgery patients in the Nationwide Inpatient Sample. Of 27,206 patients in the propensity-score matched-pairs cohort, there was no statistically significant difference between those with (400…
Editor's Note Though patient and personnel factors affect the order of case induction, induction time is most dependent on patient factors, this study finds. Of 15,823 cases analyzed, predictors of later patient induction included add-on case, ASA class 3 or more, neuraxial anesthesia, and CRNA staffing. In 11,093 (70.1%) cases,…