Editor's Note The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has designated recent recalls of Getinge and Maquet’s VasoView HemoPro 2 (VH-4000 and VH-4001) Endoscopic Vessel Harvesting Systems and BD’s Alaris Pump Module model 810 as Class 1, the most severe category indicating serious risk of injury or death. According to…

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Editor's Note A stem cell-based transplant method enabled most kidney recipients in a recent clinical trial to stop taking immunosuppressive drugs, according to a July 15 article in HealthDay. As detailed in the article, the approach was tested in a phase 3 multicenter, randomized controlled trial published in the American…

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Comparing healthcare to aviation is a long-standing tradition, especially when discussing safety systems like checklists. However, the similarities extend beyond protocols. Just as flying a paper airplane differs vastly from piloting a jumbo jet, so too does earning a certificate of attendance differ from achieving professional certification. Parallels like these…

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Editor's Note  A surgical robot independently performed a lengthy phase of gallbladder removal with expert-level precision, according to a July 9 announcement from Johns Hopkins university. "This advancement moves us from robots that can execute specific surgical tasks to robots that truly understand surgical procedures," said medical roboticist Axel Krieger,…

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Editor's Note President Donald Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill” could trigger more than $500 billion in Medicare cuts over the next decade unless Congress waives automatic spending rules, according to a July 9 article in Modern Healthcare. As detailed in the article, the legislation’s projected $3.4 trillion increase to the…

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Editor's Note Recent recalls of the Ballard Closed Suction Systems from Avanos Medical Inc., Infant Heated Wire Circuits from AirLife/Vyaire, and Broselow Pediatric Emergency Rainbow Tape from AirLife have been designated as Class 1, the US Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA’s) most severe category indicating risk of serious injury or…

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Editor's Note Providing tailored feedback to surgical prescribers significantly increased adherence to opioid prescribing guidelines without affecting patients’ ability to manage postoperative pain, according to research published June 11 in JAMA Surgery.  The study tested whether monthly reports that included peer prescribing comparisons and patient-reported outcomes could influence opioid prescribing…

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Editor's Note Logistical staff layoffs at the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are hindering the agency’s ability to scrutinize drug manufacturing safety in foreign countries, according to a July 7 report in ProPublica. A spokesperson from the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) told ProPublica that FDA…

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When Betsy Grunch, MD, FAANS, FACS, FCNS, board-certified neurosurgeon known on TikTok and Instagram as @Ladyspinedoc, watched a viral video of a surgeon berating an OR nurse during a livestreamed procedure, she was incredibly bothered by the shameful display. She took to her popular platform and spoke out against that…

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Editor's Note Recent early alerts from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), issued when the agency becomes aware of potentially high-risk issues, involve Abiomed’s Automated Impella Controller (AIC) and infusion pump software from Baxter. The AIC system, which is the user control interface for the Impella catheter blood pump,…

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