Research The CDC has published prevalence survey results in the New England Journal of Medicine that find that healthcare-associated infection (HAI) prevalence in U.S. hospitals was lower in 2023 than in 2015. Similar surveys of U.S. hospitals showed that one of 25 patients had an HAI in 2011, which lowered to one…
Anxious surgical patients often request to listen their favorite music in the perioperative suite, especially before anesthesia induction and during transport. According to a new study written by Michael Egbujionuma, RN, APRN, of Kaiser Permanente, the fulfillment of these requests can go beyond simple in-the-moment “patient comfort” to “represent an…
A new retrospective cohort study published in the Journal of the American College of Surgeons finds that “older adults who undergo high-risk emergency general surgery (EGS) spend significantly fewer days living independently at home after surgery than those undergoing lower-risk procedures,” states ACS. The researchers note that EGS in older adults…
A recent retrospective cohort study published in the Journal of the American College of Surgeons finds that postoperative opioid prescribing for pediatric surgery patients “remains a modifiable source of harm” while noting that “procedure-specific national prescribing patterns, inter-hospital variability, and high-yield stewardship targets are not well defined.” Using 2023 data…
The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) has released its first-ever Orthopaedic Industry Report, “a new market intelligence resource that synthesizes data and insights from across the continuum of orthopedic care to help healthcare leaders understand the trends shaping the orthopedic market and musculoskeletal care delivery.” States AAOS, “Healthcare organizations across…
A recently published study in the journal Obesity sought to determine whether individuals with higher BMI have been receiving proportionally more surgical care over time. Noting that approximately 41% of the U.S. population has obesity, with those who have BMIs above 60 increasing in prevalence most rapidly, the researchers hypothesized…
A new study published in the journal Nature examines the in vivo feasibility of humanoid robots in surgery. Noting “recent advances in actuation, control and learning” that have “rapidly pushed humanoid robots from a distant vision towards near-term real-world deployment,” the researchers from UC San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering…
Would you like to share information with your peers about a significant accomplishment that you and your perioperative team have achieved? If so, there’s still time to submit a poster proposal for Periop Leader Week, to be held Oct. 4 to 7 in Savannah, Ga.! And here’s some extra incentive:…
A cost efficiency analysis of outpatient ophthalmic procedures has been published in American Journal of Ophthalmology. The purpose of the study, state the researchers, was to “evaluate the financial feasibility” of nine common ophthalmic procedures performed at ASCs and HOPDs relative to Medicare facility reimbursement in 2025. The study proposes…
Much of the discussion and research on opioid-sparing postoperative pain management has centered on orthopedics and spine procedures, where opioid prescriptions have in many cases been successfully reduced or even eliminated in favor of nerve blocks and multimodal pain relief strategies. Now a major Canadian research project has examined the…
