Editor's Note An anesthesiology-based service can meet the challenge of providing efficient and high-level care for surgical patients with cardiovascular implantable electronic devices, including pacemakers and implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs), this study finds. Such a service, however, requires specialized provider training and strong support from the electrophysiology/cardiology service, and will…

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Editor's Note Total knee replacement followed by nonsurgical treatment is more effective than nonsurgical treatment alone in providing pain relief and improving function and quality of life, this study finds. However, clinically relevant improvements were seen in both groups, and the surgical patients had a higher number of serious adverse…

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Editor's Note Bariatric surgery along with 2 years of low-level lifestyle interventions resulted in more type 2 diabetes remissions than lifestyle interventions alone at 3-years followup, this study finds. Participants were randomized to either intensive lifestyle weight loss interventions for 1 year followed by low-level lifestyle interventions for 2 years…

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Editor's Note The Joint Commission Center for Transforming Healthcare on October 15 released Oro 2.0, an online high reliability assessment and resource library to help hospital leaders determine their organizations’ level of high reliability maturity. The assessment process guides users through a series of questions that allows for discussion and…

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Editor's Note In this study, more case-relevant communication among surgical team members during a procedure was associated with fewer organ/space surgical site infections (SSIs). More case-irrelevant communication during the closing phase of the procedure was linked to an increased incidence of incisional SSIs. Distractions were not associated with SSIs. Case-irrelevant…

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Editor's Note In this study on the effect of patient and hospital factors on surgical outcomes and costs at safety-net hospitals, researchers found that hospital resources and not necessarily patient factors lead to inferior outcomes and increased costs. Hospital Compare data from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services website…

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Editor's Note SmartTots on October 13 released an updated “Consensus Statement On the Use of Anesthetic and Sedative Drugs in Infants and Toddlers.” There is growing evidence from animal studies and observational studies in humans suggesting that adverse effects on behavior, learning, and memory may result from exposure to anesthetics…

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Editor's Note Bariatric surgery patients were at a much higher risk of suicide after surgery than before, in this study. Of 8,815 patients included in the study, 111 had 158 self-harm emergencies during follow-up. Overall, self-harm significantly increased postoperatively (3.63/1,000 patient years) compared with preoperatively (2.33/1,000 patient years). Self-harm emergencies…

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Editor's Note Magnet recognition is associated with better patient care experiences, which may enhance reimbursement for hospitals, this study finds. Nurse researchers compared 212 Magnet hospitals with 212 non-Magnet hospitals. Patients in Magnet hospitals gave their hospitals higher overall ratings, were more likely to recommend their hospitals, and reported more positive…

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Editor's Note An electronic blood tracking system that monitors how physicians prescribe postoperative blood transfusions significantly reduced the amount of blood patients receive and cut infection rates in half, according to a study presented October 7 at the 2015 Clinical Congress of the American College of Surgeons in Chicago. The…

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