Editor's Note The Food & Drug Administration (FDA) on March 2 announced that it had joined with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to make more respirators, including certain N95s, available to healthcare personnel during the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. Currently, the majority of respirators are used in industrial…

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Editor's Note In a February 25 telebriefing, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) warned that the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) will spread in the US, and hospitals and communities should begin ramping up their preparedness efforts, AHA Today reports. The CDC urged communities to implement non-pharmaceutical interventions or community…

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Editor's Note Hospitals should prepare now for an influx of seriously ill patients infected with the new coronavirus (COVID-19), critical care specialists advised in a panel discussion February 17 at the Society of Critical Care Medicine’s annual congress in Orlando, Florida. A significant influx of seriously ill patients will put…

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Editor's Note The Food & Drug Administration on February 14 announced that it is an active partner in the coronavirus (COVID-19) response. It is working closely with the Department of Health and Human Services and international counterparts to help diagnose, treat, and prevent the disease as well as surveil the…

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Editor's Note AORN on February 14 released a new coronavirus (COVID-19) tool kit to support OR decision-making for the safety of healthcare workers and patients. The toolkit includes: World Health Organization updates Centers for Disease Control & Prevention updates ECRI Institute-Coronavirus Outbreak Preparedness Center resources Journal of the American Medical…

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Editor's Note The Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) on February 12 updated it personal protective equipment (PPE) recommendations for healthcare personnel. Who needs PPE? Patients with confirmed or possible COVID-19 infection should wear a facemask during medical evaluations. Healthcare personnel should adhere to standard, contact, and airborne precautions,…

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Editor's Note Long sleeved surgical jackets and bouffant head covers are neither beneficial nor cost-effective in preventing surgical site infections (SSIs), this study finds. A total of 34,042 inpatient surgical procedures performed at the University of Alabama at Birmingham Hospital were analyzed during three periods between January 2017 and October…

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Editor's Note The Food & Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Stephen Hahn says there have been no drug or medical device shortages reported in the US so far amid the coronavirus outbreak, but the situation remains fluid, the February 7 Politico reports. The FDA has pulled its inspectors from China, and…

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Editor's Note The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on February 8 updated its guidance for risk assessment and management of healthcare personnel possibly exposed in a healthcare setting to patients with the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV). The first confirmed transmission from person-to-person in the US was reported January 30,…

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Editor's Note Cardinal Health is voluntarily recalling 9.1 million potentially contaminated surgical gowns, 7.7 million of which were distributed to 2,807 facilities across the country, the January 22 Becker’s Hospital Review reports. The company took the action after learning of unsanitary environmental conditions at a plant in China that manufacturers…

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