Editor's Note Intermountain Health researchers have uncovered a practical solution for reducing the risk of opioid-induced respiratory depression (OIRD) in same-day surgery patients, showing that a basic monitoring device—specifically, a pulse oximeter—can save lives, News Channel Nebraska March 27 reports. The study, published in the Respiratory Care Journal, focused on…

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Editor's Note According to a study presented at the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons 2025 Annual Meeting, same-day discharge for total joint arthroplasty (TJA) patients with a history of atrial fibrillation (AF) is both feasible and safe, Medscape March 31 reports. This finding challenges the common assumption that patients with…

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Editor's Note A large-scale study of over 50,000 ambulatory surgery center (ASC) procedures shows a strikingly low rate of 24-hour unplanned postoperative hospital admissions, offering a benchmark that other ASCs can strive to match, General Surgery News March 26 reports. Over a 7-year period from 2016 to 2022, researchers at…

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Editor's Note A new study led by Leticia Nogueira, PhD, MPH, scientific director of Health Services Research at the American Cancer Society indicates, found that exposure to wildfires may influence how long patients remain in the hospital after undergoing surgery for non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), Cancer Network March 26…

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Editor's Note A wearable smart t-shirt that remotely monitors vital signs helped patients go home earlier and feel safer after robot-assisted urological cancer surgery, according to a March 21 article in Medical Xpress. The article details a pilot study, presented at the European Association of Urology Congress in Madrid, Spain,…

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Editor's Note A March 4 study in JAMA Network Open underscores the persistence of the “weekend effect,” a surgical care phenomenon in which the risk of postoperative complications, readmissions and mortality rises immediately before the weekend. The research suggests variations in staffing, resource availability, and care coordination may contribute to…

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Editor's Note Prolonged exposure to general anesthesia during surgery contributes to long-term cognitive decline, affecting executive functioning, selective attention, mental speed, and information processing, according to a February 18 study published in the European Journal of Anaesthesiology. This prospective longitudinal cohort study followed 1,823 adults aged 25–84 in the Netherlands…

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Editor's Note Using powerful synthetic opioids remifentanil and sufentanil during surgery increases risk of patients suffering during recovery, according to a study in the journal Regional Anesthesia & Pain Medicine. HealthDay reported the news February 27. According to the article, researchers analyzed data from 971 patients who underwent surgery—37% orthopedic…

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Editor’s Note Preoperative use of sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitors (SGLT2i) does not increase the risk of postoperative diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) in patients undergoing emergency surgery, according to a study published February 19 in JAMA Surgery. These findings challenge the current FDA recommendation to withhold SGLT2i medications for at least three…

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Editor’s Note Large language models (LLMs) outperformed traditional methods in predicting postoperative complications, according to a study on artificial intelligence (AI) in perioperative risk assessment published February 11 in the journal Nature. Results indicate AI-driven models could enhance patient safety and streamline clinical workflows by detecting complications earlier. Researchers analyzed…

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