Editor's Note The Joint Commission and the American Heart Association (AHA) will offer a single cardiovascular (CV) certification program for hospitals beginning January 1, 2019, the Joint Commission announced on October 10. The single certification is designed to enhance CV patient care and improve outcomes and quality of life. It…

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Editor's Note The Perioperative Surgical Home (PSH) model of care was successful in improving quality of care and outcomes in elderly hip fracture patients and children having cardiac surgery in two studies presented October 14 at the Anesthesiology 2018 annual meeting in San Francisco. One study compared 308 hip fracture…

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Editor's Note In this study, a preoperative, patient-centered wellness program significantly reduced hospital acquired infections in surgical patients at an academic medical center. A total of 12,396 surgical patients were given a wellness bundle in a roller bag during preoperative screening. The bundle included chlorhexidine bath solution, immuno-nutrition supplements, an…

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Editor's Note In patients with American Society of Anesthesiologists physical status I and II, the risk of 30-day morbidity and mortality was similar for those who had blood testing shortly before surgery and those whose testing was done up to 2 months before surgery, this study finds. Of 235,010 patients…

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In this study, researchers project that the burden of complex surgical site infections (SSIs) after primary and revision total hips and knees will increase 14% from 2020 through 2030 because of an aging population. Editor's Note In this study, researchers project that the burden of complex surgical site infections (SSIs)…

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Editor's Note In this multicenter, randomized controlled trial from the Netherlands, physical therapy was noninferior to early arthroscopic partial menisectomy for improving knee function in patients with nonobstructive meniscal tears. In this analysis of 321 (159 surgery, 162 physical therapy) patients, knee function improved by 20.4 points in the physical…

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Editor's Note In cardiac surgery patients at moderate-to-high risk for death, a restrictive strategy for red blood cell (RBC) transfusion was equivalent to a liberal strategy, with respect to death from any cause, myocardial infarction, stroke, or renal failure, at 6-months follow-up, this study finds. There also were no significant…

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Editor's Note Major clinical comorbidities increased substantially in patients after elective arthroscopic hip surgery in this study by Duke researchers. These comorbidities have been overlooked in the past by major studies evaluating the procedure’s benefits and risks, the researchers say. In this analysis of 1,870 patients (mean age 32) in…

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Editor's Note The Joint Commission on September 26 announced a collaboration with the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) that will incorporate AAOS’ clinical expertise into development of  standards and performance measurement requirements for the Joint Commission's Total Hip and Knee Replacement (THKR) Certification. The Joint Commission and AAOS will…

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Editor' Note The Joint Commission in partnership with the American Heart Association recently approved a new certification program that will provide an independent evaluation of an organization's eligibility to qualify as a comprehensive cardiac center. After reviewing program requirements, the Joint Commission identified the following areas for revision: Collaborative model…

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