Editor's Note The ECRI Institute on May 21 announced that it had provided conclusive research to help guide the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) new “FDA Report on the Quality, Safety, and Effectiveness of Servicing of Medical Devices.” The FDA report, which addresses concerns about the quality of service provided…

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Disruption in the perioperative setting occurs across a continuum ranging from verbal outbursts to physical violence. “We live in an increasingly violent society, and we need to take measures to educate and prepare nurses and other team members to be safe,” says Margo Halm, PhD, RN, NEA-BC, associate chief executive,…

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Societal problems in recent years have placed increasing burdens on healthcare workers. With the increase in mass casualty victims, people displaced by natural disasters, and drug or alcohol addicts, it’s not uncommon to experience disruptive patients or families of patients who arrive at the facility under a great deal of…

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Editor's Note In this study, working overtime negatively influenced nurse-nurse and nurse-physician collaboration. Survey data from 24,013 nurses in 957 units from 168 hospitals in the National Database of Nursing Quality Indicators showed that one third of nurses work beyond their scheduled shifts. One hour of overtime was associated with…

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Editor's Note Ambient intraoperative OR temperature had a negligible effect on core temperature when patients were warmed with forced air in this study. The effect was larger when patients were passively insulated, but the magnitude remained small. A total of 292 adult patients were randomized to ambient temperatures 19º, 21º,…

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Editor's Note A change of policy to allow the practice of overlapping surgery for urgent neurosurgical procedures in a tertiary care, safety-net hospital significantly reduced length of stay, in this study presented May 1 at the American Association of Neurological Surgeons in New Orleans. Of 452 cases analyzed (201 in…

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Editor's Note In an effort to bridge political differences and provide a constructive path forward, leaders of the American College of Surgeons (ACS) Committee on Trauma on April 19 released a set of strategies to reduce firearm-related injury, disability, and death by making ownership of firearms as safe as possible.…

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Editor's Note In this study, a significant mismatch was found between parents’ and pediatric surgeons’ expectations on the role of the surgeon on the day of surgery, with parents expecting more direct involvement by the attending surgeon. A total of 110 parents and 84 pediatric surgeons and surgical residents completed…

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Editor's Note The Joint Commission on April 17 announced that it had issued a new Sentinel Event Alert 59: Physical and verbal violence against healthcare workers. The Joint Commission issued the alert during Workplace Violence Awareness Month to help healthcare workers in hospitals and other healthcare settings recognize violence from…

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The OR isn’t exempt from the effects of the opioid crisis. Identifying patients taking opioids is part of OR clinicians’ responsibilities, and they also play an important role in preventing opioid addiction. “We have patients who have opioid use disorder [OUD] and neglect to tell us,” says Mary Jo Steiert,…

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