Editor's Note The combination of femoral and sciatic nerve blocks is the overall best approach to pain management after total knee arthroplasty, finds this meta-analysis. The best five modalities for pain at rest were: femoral/obturator, femoral/sciatic/obturator, lumbar plexus/sciatic, femoral/sciatic, and fascia iliaca compartment blocks. For reducing opioid consumption, the best…

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Editor's Note The Joint Commission announced on April 12 that Genesys Regional Medical Center, Grand Blanc, Michigan, and Home IV Care, Inc, Madison Heights, Michigan, are the first organizations to receive its new Medication Compounding Certification. The certification is based on standards from the US Pharmacopeial Convention (USP) to help…

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Editor's Note New persistent postoperative opioid use is common and does not differ between minor and major procedures, but, instead, it is associated with behavioral and pain disorders, this study finds. Of 36,177 elective surgery patients assessed, about 6% filled opioid drug prescriptions between 90 and 180 days after the…

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Editor's Note The Joint Commission on April 13 unveiled its Top 10 Challenging Standards for Ambulatory Health Care and Office-Based Surgery accredited organizations in 2016. Leading the top 10 are: IC.02.02.01: The organization reduces the risk of infections associated with medical equipment, devices, and supplies. HR.02.01.03: The organization grants initial,…

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Editor's Note The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) on April 14 issued a proposed rule that would update FY 2018 Medicare inpatient payments and policies. Among the changes, the rule: would increase payment rates by 1.6%, after accounting for inflation and other adjustments required by law includes an…

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Editor's Note Conscious sedation is a safe and viable option for anesthesia in patients having transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR), finds this study. The use of conscious sedation rather than general anesthesia was associated with: similar rates of adverse events (1.5% in both groups) shortened ICU (30 vs 96 hours)…

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Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on April 6 announced the recall of all lots of sterile products compounded and packaged by Isomeric Pharmacy Solutions (Salt Lake City, Utah). The recall was issued because of FDA concerns of a lack of sterility assurance, which were brought to Isomeric’s…

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Editor's Note A home-based preoperative training program decreased hospital length of stay (LOS), reduced costs, and was well accepted by patients, this study finds. Elements of the Michigan Surgical Home and Optimization Program include improving the patient’s diet, reducing stress, breathing exercises, smoking cessation, and an emphasis on light physical…

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Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on April 8 announced the recall of all StrataMR adjustable valves and shunts manufactured by Medtronic (Dublin, Ireland). The recall was issued because of a postimplantation problem that can lead to under-drainage of cerebrospinal fluid, which can lead to headaches, nausea, vomiting,…

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Editor's Note This study finds that the American College of Surgeons (ACS) National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (NSQIP) Surgical Risk Calculator serves its intended purpose of providing a general purpose risk calculator, which is applicable across many surgical domains, using easily understood and generally available predictive information. The Surgical Risk…

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