Editor's Note US surgeons are helping to slash postoperative opioid use, which has driven opioid prescription fills for common same-day procedures down from 43% to 16% over 13 years, Physician’s Weekly April 22 reports. The data were retrieved from a study published in the April 2025 issue of the Journal…

Read More

Editor's Note Bariatric surgery improves survival and appears cost-effective over a decade for patients with obesity and compensated cirrhosis, according to an April 18 report in Healio. The findings, based on an analysis published in JAMA Surgery, suggest that bariatric surgery could fill a crucial gap in care for this…

Read More

Editor's Note Recent reporting from Fierce Healthcare highlights two notable technology advances that promise to impact surgical patients and caregivers:  an AI-driven blood pressure monitoring system and a remote-controlled endovascular robotics platform. The first development, from BD, is designed to help clinicians anticipate and manage dangerous blood pressure drops during…

Read More

Editor's Note For some surgeons, treating patients goes hand-in-hand with healing the environment. Consider an April 23 report in Medical Xpress. Detailing sustainability efforts at Chicago’s Rush University Medical Center by pediatric surgeon Ami Shah, MD, and her colleague Brian Gulack, MD, the article showcases how rethinking everyday surgical routines…

Read More

Editor's Note Oregon lawmakers are advancing legislation that would ban artificial intelligence (AI) systems from using the title “nurse,” drawing strong support from professional nursing organizations. Chief Healthcare Executive reported the news April 16. As detailed in the article, the bill seeks to preserve the integrity of the nursing profession…

Read More

Editor's Note An April 16 article in JAMA Network outlines a three-part communications framework for improving the quality and clarity of perioperative conversations with patients, particularly when time is limited and stakes are high. The article focuses particularly on three core communications skills: attending to emotion, managing uncertainty, and supporting…

Read More

Editor's Note Eating during the day instead of at night may protect shift workers from harmful cardiovascular effects, according to an April 17 report in Medscape on new research from Mass General Brigham. Researchers found that the timing of meals—not just their content—directly influences cardiac and clotting function in adults…

Read More

Editor's Note Conventional cleaning protocols fail to remove visible soil and debris from lumened surgical instruments, raising urgent concerns about patient safety and sterilization efficacy. That’s the central finding of a study published February 11 in The American Journal of Infection Control, which used borescopes to inspect the lumens of…

Read More

Editor's Note Nearly 140,000 nurses have left the workforce since 2022, and 40% of the remaining workforce plans to exit by 2029, according to the 2024 National Nursing Workforce Study from the National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN). According to an April 17 announcement from NCSBN, the survey…

Read More

Editor's Note The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) warned of safety risks resulting from manufacturing issues with two varieties of intravascular catheter—Conavi Medical’s Novasight Hybrid line and BD’s PowerPICC intravascular devices—in separate early alerts April 18. In one reported incident, the sheath of a Novasight Hybrid catheter—a device used…

Read More