ASRA Pain Medicine issues recommendations in light of contrast shortage
Editor's Note The American Society of Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine (ASRA Pain Medicine) developed and published on May 23 recommendations clinicians should take during the current shortage of the iodinated contrast medium (ICM) iohexol. Contrast medium, according to ASRA Pain Medicine, is used to confirm accurate needle placement and…
Contamination during reuse of N95 masks
Editor's Note This simulation study, led by researchers at the Louis Stokes Cleveland VA Medical Center, Cleveland, finds that reuse of N95 masks can result in contamination of those wearing the masks and the environment, even when correct technique is used. A total of 12 healthcare workers (HCWs) performed 3…
FDA: Class I recall of Medtronic HVAD Pump Implant Kit
Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on June 8 identified the recall by Medtronic of its HeartWare Ventricular Assist Device (HVAD) Pump Implant Kit as Class I, the most serious. The HVAD System is used as a bridge to cardiac transplants. The Kit was recalled because of a…
Outcomes associated with workplace mental health program before, during COVID-19
Editor's Note This study from Spring Health, New York City, and Yale University, New Haven Connecticut, finds that an employer-sponsored mental health benefit was associated with reduced symptoms for employees and positive financial return on investment (ROI) for employers. This cohort study included 1,132 employees participating in a workplace mental…
Bill introduced to protect HCWs like airline staff
Editor's Note US Representatives Madeleine Dean (D-Pa) and Larry Bucshon, MD, (R-Ind) on June 7 introduced a Bill to protect healthcare workers (HCWs) from violence that is modeled after protections for airline workers, the June 8 Becker’s Hospital Review reports. The Safety from Violence for Healthcare Employees Act would criminalize…
Analysis: Healthcare stocks perform poorly during inflation spikes
Editor's Note According to an analysis by Derek Horstmeyer, PhD, finance professor at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia, healthcare stocks generally see the “worst median annualized returns during inflation spikes,” Becker’s Hospital CFO Report June 8 reports. Horstmeyer’s analysis, first published in the Wall Street Journal on June 5,…
Protection, waning of immunity to COVID-19 after infection, vaccination
Editor's Note This Israeli study finds that individuals previously infected with COVID-19, regardless of whether they had been vaccinated, had more protection against reinfection than those who were vaccinated (Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine) but previously uninfected. Among the findings for the number of COVID-19 cases per 100,000 person days since vaccination or…
FDA: Class I recall of Philips Respironics V60, V60 Plus Ventilators
Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration on June 3 identified the recall by Philips Respironics of all V60 and V60 Plus Ventilators as Class I, the most serious. The recall was initiated because an internal power fluctuation may cause the ventilator to shut down unintentionally with or without any…
Study: Pulse oximetry may overestimate blood oxygen reading in people of color
Editor's Note In a JAMA Internal Medicine study involving more than 7,000 COVID-19 patients, titled “Racial and Ethnic Discrepancy in Pulse Oximetry and Delayed Identification of Treatment Eligibility Among Patients With COVID-19” and published in May 2022, researchers found that pulse oximetry, which measures blood oxygen saturation levels and is…
Association of COVID-19 booster and Omicron in the NBA
Editor's Note This study, led by researchers at IQVIA, Durham, North Carolina, finds that in a young, healthy, highly vaccinated cohort of players and staff in the National Basketball Association (NBA), booster vaccinations were associated with a significant reduction in COVID-19 infections during the Omicron wave. Of 2,613 players and…
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