Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration on January 2 announced the recall by PharMEDium Services (Lake Forest, Illinois) of 55 lots (impacting 25,327 units) of compounded sterile drug products because of a lack of sterility assurance. The recalled products were manufactured in PharMEDium’s Memphis location and distributed nationwide to…

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Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on January 4 announced the recall by AuroMedics Pharma LLC (Windsor, New Jersey) of one lot of Ampicillin and Sulbactam for Injection USP 1.5 g in a single-dose vial. The recall was issued because the lot (Lot AFOI 17001-A, Expiry date December…

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Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on January 2 classified the recall by Sterilmed (Plymouth, Minnesota) of its Agilis Steerable Reprocessed Introducer Sheath as Class I, the most serious. The sheath's hemostatic valve, which prevents blood from flowing back through the valve, may fail because of an improper…

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Editor's Note The Joint Commission on December 20, 2017, posted new and revised standards that go into effect in January 2018. Included are: Life Safety Code revisions that address topics such as testing of emergency lighting systems and inspection and testing of piped medical gas and vacuum systems. Medication Management…

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Editor's Note Wearing long sleeves with gloves while prepping a patient in the OR decreased large-particle and microbial shedding compared with prepping with bare arms, in this study. A mock patient skin prep was performed in 3 different ORs. A long-sleeved gown and gloves or bare arms were used to…

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Editor's Note Perioperative myocardial injury (PMI) is a common complication after noncardiac surgery (occurring in 1 of 7 patients), and it is associated with substantial short- and long-term mortality (9% and 22%), this study finds. This analysis included 2,018 patients having 2,546 surgical procedures. PMI occurred after 397 of the…

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Editor's Note ECRI Institute on December 12 issued its list of Top 10 Health Technology Hazards for 2018. The list, which is available for free (registration required), identifies sources of technology dangers or difficulties and details steps to minimize the occurrence of adverse events. Topping the list is ransomware and…

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Editor's Note Hospitals with the largest reductions in serious complications after bariatric surgery had the greatest decrease in per-patient Medicare payments, this study finds. Analyzing 37,329 Medicare patients undergoing bariatric surgery from 2005 to 2006 and 2013 to 2014, researchers found a strong association between reductions in complications and decreased…

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Editor's Note Under a bill approved unanimously December 5 by the Florida Senate Health Policy Committee, ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) could treat patients overnight, the December 6 WUSF News reports. Before approving the bill (SB 250), sponsored by Sen Greg Steube (R-Sarasota), the committee agreed to an amendment requiring the…

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Editor's Note Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is an important risk factor for postoperative complications in cardiac surgery patients, finds this meta-analysis led by Frances Chung, MD, a noted expert on OSA. After cardiac surgery, major adverse cardiac or cerebrovascular events and newly documented postoperative atrial fibrillation were 33.3% and 18.1%…

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