Editor's Note Propofol research published in the journal Neuron has broader implications for enabling more precise, safer doses of anesthesia, according to an August 14 report in Anesthesiology News. According to the article, anesthesiologists tend to use higher doses of anesthetics because they rely on indirect measures, such as heart…

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Editor's Note Uterus transplants are feasible, but the procedure is associated with considerable risks for both patient and organ donor, according to a study published August 15 in JAMA.   Conducted at a large US tertiary care center, the study involved 20 women with absolute uterine-factor infertility—a condition that prevents…

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Editor's Note A dispute over cameras in ORs reportedly added tension to nurse strike negotiations that recently culminated in a tentative agreement with union nurses at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston. According to an August 7 CBS News report, the OR cameras are intended to assist with robotic surgeries.…

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Editor's Note In a first step toward battery-free wearable electronics, researchers at Carnegie Mellon University have developed a healthcare device powered by the patient's body heat. According to an article published July 16 in MedicalXpress, the device combines a pulse oximetry sensor with a flexible, stretchable thermoelectric energy generator made…

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Editor's Note For diabetic patients with obesity and chronic kidney disease (CKD), metabolic bariatric surgery could protect the kidneys better than therapy with glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1RA), according to research published in the September issue of the Annals of Surgery. Conducted at a large US health system, the study…

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Editor's Note Optimizing patient positioning can help reduce the risk of surgical site infections due to airborne contaminants in positive-pressure ORs, according to a study published August 12 in Nature: Scientific Reports. Maintaining higher pressure than adjacent spaces prevents entry of contaminants from environments external to the OR. For this…

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Editor's Note The Red Cross is reporting a 25-percent drop in its national blood inventory due to hot weather a month after the American Hospital Association (AHA) warned about the impact of cyberattacks on critical supplies at hospitals. According to an August 6 report in The Hill, heat-related challenges have…

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Editor's Note A study published August 6 in the journal Surgery highlights the impact of structured debriefing tools on improving communication and patient safety in the OR during the COVID-19 pandemic. Conducted over three years, the study implemented a new electronic health record (EHR) module to document surgical debriefings and…

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Editor's Note The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) designated recalls of Medtronic’s NIM Vital Nerve Monitoring System and Smith Medical’s CADD-Solis Ambulatory Infusion Pumps as Class 1, the most severe category indicating serious risk of injury or death. Reports of false negative responses prompted Medtronic to recall the nerve…

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Editor's Note An electronic health record (EHR)-based nudge could significantly reduce low-value axillary surgeries in older women with early-stage breast cancer, researchers reported July 17 in JAMA Surgery. Conducted across eight clinical settings, the initiative significantly cut the rates of low-value sentinel lymph node biopsies (SLNB) by nearly 50% over…

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