Editor's Note The Partnership for Health IT Patient Safety, a multi-stakeholder collaborative convened and operated by ECRI Institute, has issued new safe practice recommendations for the use of health IT in improving the accuracy of patient identification. Mistaken identifications can lead to wrong patient care, improper care, or no care…
Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has categorized the recall by Zimmer Biomet (Warsaw, Indiana) of its Comprehensive Reverse Shoulder as Class I, the most serious. The recall was issued because the devices are fracturing at a higher rate than is stated in the labeling. Fractures may result…
Editor's Note Even mild postoperative pulmonary complications (PPCs) are associated with increased early postoperative mortality, ICU admission, and length of stay, finds this study. Of 1,202 ASA physical status 3 patients from seven academic medical centers included in the analysis, at least one PPC occurred in 401 patients. All patients…
Editor's Note New studies of census, earnings, and retirement data show that women’s career paths are more closely mirroring men’s, including an increasing tendency to work full-time into their 60 and 70s, the February 11 New York Times reports. About 30% of women aged 65 to 69 are working, which…
Editor's Note In this study of patients undergoing total hip or knee replacement, smoking was associated with an increased risk of infectious complications that required further surgery. In addition, the amount that a patient had smoked, regardless of current smoking status, significantly contributed to increased risk of readmission. A total…
Editor's Note Anastomotic leaks and postoperative ileus had significantly higher associations with 30-day patient outcomes after colon resection than surgical site infections (SSIs), urinary tract infections, and venous thromboembolism, this study finds. In 26,682 patients undergoing colon resection, the most common postoperative complications were ileus (11.8%), bleeding (7.6%), and incisional…
Editor's Note In hospitals that care for a lower volume of frail patients, frail surgical patients have increased postoperative mortality and failure to rescue, finds this study. Of 63,381 frail patients analyzed, 30-day mortality in the lowest volume quintile was 1.1%, compared to 0.9% in the highest. Adjusted analysis found…
Editor's Note Patients whose surgeons had large numbers of patient complaints about rude and disrespectful behavior had a significantly increased risk of postoperative complications and being readmitted, this study finds. Of 32,125 patients included in the study, 3,501 (11%) had a postoperative complication (5.5% surgical, 7.5% medical). The adjusted rate…
Editor's Note The Joint Commission announced February 15 that it will now evaluate all accredited organizations for compliance with the January 18 Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ban on powdered gloves. Citations will be listed under Leadership (LD) 04.01.01 element of performance (EP) 2: “The organization provides care, treatment and…
Editor's Note In this experimental study, alcohol-based skin preps fueled OR fires in common clinical scenarios. No fires occurred with nonalcohol-based preps; however, alcohol-based preps caused flash flames at 0 minutes in 22% and at 3 minutes in 10% of tests. Pooling of alcohol-based preps caused fires in 38% at…
