Editor's Note New research shows surgical patients in the US face a significantly greater risk of food insecurity than nonsurgical patients, even after adjusting for demographic and socioeconomic differences. Findings also point to potential underutilization of the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits among surgical patients, study authors write.  …

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Editor's Note Failure to document thoroughly, position patients safely, and follow facility policies are leading causes of malpractice claims against perioperative nurses, according to an analysis published in the AORN Journal on May 28. Although physicians are more frequently named in malpractice suits, nurses are the primary provider responsible in…

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Vaccine health has been dominating the news amid ongoing measles and whooping cough outbreaks and high influenza activity last season. It is also on the minds of The Joint Commission surveyors, as the organization has updated infection control standards that took effect in July 2024 for hospitals and critical access…

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Editor's Note Baxter has issued a correction notice for its Novum IQ Large Volume Pump (LVP) after identifying a serious risk of underinfusion linked to the device’s standby mode and power-off conditions. First published on April 24 on the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) website and subsequently reported by Healthcare…

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Editor's Note Influenza and RSV infections more than double the risk of secondary Streptococcus pneumoniae infection, while COVID-19 is associated with a significantly reduced risk, according to a June 2 news brief from the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy (CIDRAP). The findings stem from a retrospective study of…

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Editor's Note Routine colonoscopy surveillance after polyp removal is safe for adults over 75 and should not be ruled out based on age alone, according to a new study from Kaiser Permanente published on May 27 in Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology. The research, conducted as part of the National Cancer…

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Editor's Note Greater familiarity between surgeons and anesthesiologists was associated with reduced major morbidity in certain high-risk procedures, according to a Canadian retrospective cohort study published in JAMA Surgery. As detailed in a May 28 report from MedPage Today, the population-based analysis included more than 711,000 index procedures, finding an…

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Editor's Note Simple hysterectomy provides similar long-term survival outcomes to modified radical or radical hysterectomy for patients with low-risk, early-stage cervical cancer, according to a large cohort study published May 15 in JAMA Network Open. Consistent with prior research, the findings add to the growing body of evidence supporting conservative…

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Preventing infection from contaminated surgical tools requires attention to every link in a complex chain of processes, from point-of-use pretreatment in the OR to the moment the freshly disinfected or sterilized item arrives at the next patient’s bedside. For those on the front lines, manufacturers’ written instructions for use (IFUs)…

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Editor's Note Independent gastroenterology (GI) practices face mounting pressures from inflation, labor shortages, and regulatory burden, but five distinct strategies offer owners a path forward, Gastroenterology & Endoscopy News May 23 reports. As detailed in the article, GI practices—especially smaller ones, which make up the majority of the approximately 2,100…

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