Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration on July 1 identified the recall by Edwards Lifesciences (Irvine, California) of its IntraClude Intra-Aortic Occlusion Device as Class I, the most serious. The recall was initiated because of a risk of balloon rupture during use in patients undergoing cardiopulmonary bypass. The company…

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Editor's Note Use of opioids and benzodiazepines 6 months before surgery was associated with increased short- and long-term mortality and an increased rate of persistent postoperative opioid consumption, this study finds. In this analysis of 41,170 noncardiac surgical cases in 27,787 patients in Iceland, preoperative prescriptions for opioids only were…

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Editor's Note In this study, a predictive model that can help identify patients at higher odds for not requiring a prolonged hospital length of stay (LOS) after total hip arthroplasty was developed and validated and a point-based calculator was designed. The calculator included nine variables: age, opioid use, metabolic equivalents…

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Editor's Note Oxygenation was impaired by anesthesia more often in patients with greater age or body mass index, this study finds. This retrospective analysis of data from two hospitals found key contributors to impaired oxygenation were low ventilation/perfusion ratios because of airway narrowing and closure in the elderly and atelectasis-induced…

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Editor's Note Retooling paper-based measures to electronic format for reporting performance measures can help reduce hospitals’ reporting burden. However, in this study by Joint Commission and State University of New York researchers, a simplified risk model using electronic health record (EHR) elements could not capture most risk factors in the…

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Editor's Note The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) on June 21 issued final updates to its national coverage policy for Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement (TAVR). The update provides more flexibility in how centers meet volume requirements for performing TAVR, while emphasizing the importance of the heart team for…

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Editor's Note Prescribing fewer opioid tablets postoperatively was associated with lower opioid consumption after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction, and preoperative education was associated with lower duration and quantity of postoperative opioid use, this study finds. Of 264 patients analyzed, 109 received 50 tablets, 77 received 30 tablets and no education,…

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Editor's Note A new scoring system reveals a strong agreement between patient-reported and physician-reported outcomes after surgery, the Mayo Clinic reports. The study enrolled 100 patients who had elbow or shoulder surgery. The average time between surgery and follow-up was 31 months. In the categorical ratings, patients and physicians agreed…

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Editor's Note A visible-light continuous environmental disinfection (CED) system, used with manual cleaning, resulted in a significant reduction in microbial surface contamination and surgical site infections (SSIs) in an orthopedic OR, in this study. Samples were taken from 25 surfaces within two contiguous ORs sharing an air supply after manual…

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Editor's Note Risk-adjusted surgical outcomes vary widely across hospitals within networks that are on the Honor Roll of the US News & World Report, this study finds. In this analysis of 87 hospitals and 143,174 patients, outcomes were not consistently better at Honor Roll hospitals compared with network affiliates. For…

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