Editor's Note The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on June 10 announced that it will no longer require international travelers to have a negative COVID-19 test before flying to the US, effective June 12. The CDC continues to recommend that travelers flying to the US get tested as…
Editor's Note A systematic review and meta-analysis published in JAMA Psychiatry on April 13 shows that even small amounts of low-intensity physical activity can decrease risk of depression among adults, JAMA Network June 7 reports. The analysis included 15 cohort studies comprising 191,130 participants. The researchers estimated that if adults…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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,…
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…
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…