Editor's Note A low-cost blood test for troponin, a protein released during heart muscle damage, significantly improves long-term risk prediction for heart attacks and strokes—especially in patients with intermediate cardiovascular risk, according to an April 7 report from News-Medical.Net. The findings, based on a large-scale international study led by the…

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Editor's Note The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has called on the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to implement a formal mechanism for coordinating efforts to address ongoing drug shortages, which continue to jeopardize patient care nationwide. In a report released April 9, 2025, the GAO highlighted the critical…

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Editor's Note What is reportedly the first technology to allow dynamic, 3D, segmental visualization of anatomy during surgery earned a second 510(k) clearance from the US Food and Drug Administration, according to an April 8 press release from developer Proprio. Designed to let surgeons measure progress during surgery without scrubbing…

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Editor's Note New research offers a potential explanation for why some patients retain toxic metals long after undergoing an MRI. Published in the journal Magnetic Resonance Imaging, the findings show that gadolinium contrast agents used in MRI scans may react with common dietary compounds to form harmful metal nanoparticles in…

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Editor's Note Researchers have developed a fully dissolvable, needle-injectable pacemaker that regulates heart rhythms without requiring surgical removal. As detailed in an April 2 article in Scientific American, the miniature device—just millimeters in size—can deliver electrical stimulation for days to weeks before safely breaking down in the body, potentially reducing…

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Editor's Note Constitution Billing and Financial Services (CBFS), the revenue‑cycle arm of Constitution Surgery Alliance (CSA), has signed a commercial agreement with health tech startup Milagro to deploy its autonomous medical‑coding platform across CSA’s 26 partnered and managed ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs). The partnership was announced in an April 4 CSA press…

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Editor's Note Safety organizations are raising concerns amid increased reports of improper needle use causing vial coring, leading to potential contamination and patient risk. Published April 4 by the Anesthesia Patient Safety Foundation (APSF) and ECRI/Institute for Safe Medicine Practices (ISMP), the alert offers interim guidelines to reduce risks associated…

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Editor's Note Sidney Barbier, a University of Denver senior and competitive cross-country skier, became the first person worldwide to undergo single-port robotic renal vein transposition, marking a breakthrough in treating nutcracker syndrome, The Cleveland Clinic reported April 3. As detailed in the article, the robotic surgery ended a competitive skier’s…

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Editor's Note Machine learning (ML) models designed to predict patient mortality are falling short when it comes to identifying severe injuries that could lead to death, according to a March 27 report in TechTarget. The article focuses on research published in Nature Communications Medicine found that ML mortality prediction models…

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Editor's Note A recent study shows potentially significant promise for preoperative virtual reality (VR) simulation to improve surgical patient outcomes. Published March 1 in the American Journal of Critical Care, the research details how VR reduced ICU sedation and ventilator time for patients undergoing elective cardiothoracic surgery. Although the program…

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