Feature Channels: Patient Safety

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Skin cancer is the most prevalent form of cancer in the United States, with over 5 million cases diagnosed annually. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that melanoma alone accounts for more than 8,000 deaths each year. Thankfully, skin cancer is highly preventable, making it crucial to prioritize protection. Below are some of the latest headlines in the Dermatology channel.

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A newly released practice alert from the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses aims to standardize how nurses care for patients undergoing prone positioning therapy for extended periods of time. It summarizes expected nursing practice to reduce the risk of complications related to manual prone positioning.

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Title 42, the United States pandemic rule that had been used to immediately deport hundreds of thousands of migrants who crossed the border illegally over the last three years, has expired. Those migrants will have the opportunity to apply for asylum. President Biden's new rules to replace Title 42 are facing legal challenges. Border crossings have already risen sharply, as many migrants attempt to cross before the measure expires on Thursday night. Some have said they worry about tighter controls and uncertainty ahead. Immigration is once again a major focus of the media as we examine the humanitarian, political, and public health issues migrants must go through.

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Accelerated schedules for repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) can be offered to patients experiencing treatment-resistant major depressive disorder (MDD), a group of clinician–researchers and neuroscientists have concluded. The group cautions that such treatment should be proposed only after detailed discussion with patients about acceleration being an alternate form of rTMS scheduling, with documentation of informed consent.

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Recently, Wyoming partially opted out from federal regulations that require physician supervision of Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (CRNAs). The American Association of Nurse Anesthesiology (AANA) reports that the governors of 23 states and Guam have exercised such exemptions for either full or partial opt-out.

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May is Mental Health Awareness Month. Get your mental health news here.

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Most antidepressants used for chronic pain are being prescribed with “insufficient” evidence of their effectiveness, scientists have warned.

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The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center’s Research Highlights showcases the latest breakthroughs in cancer care, research and prevention. These advances are made possible through seamless collaboration between MD Anderson’s world-leading clinicians and scientists, bringing discoveries from the lab to the clinic and back.

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En Cedars-Sinai, hay otra gran razón para donar sangre: lo que muchos consideran la parte más dolorosa del proceso—la punción en el dedo de una aguja para medir el nivel de hemoglobina—ya tiene otra opción.

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The first tip for physicians in a new paper authored by John Higgins, MD, is to have the mindset of a detective and dig deeper when something is not adding up with the care of a patient. The article titled, “Ten Traits of Great Physicians,” was published recently in The American Journal of Medicine.

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The researcher discusses the findings in a new study on the efficacy and safety of fecal microbiota (REBYOTA™), the first microbiota-based live biotherapeutic approved by the US FDA used to prevent recurrent Clostridioides difficile infection in adults.

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Upon an arrival to the emergency department for abdominal pain of unknown cause, most non-pregnant adult patients receive a CT scan with IV contrast to diagnose the source of the pain. However, IV contrast can be a risk in patients with severe kidney disease or at risk for an allergic reaction from the dye. When scans are performed without IV contrast, though, they are usually less accurate, which can lead to misdiagnosis.

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AACC has issued expert guidance on clinical testing for procalcitonin, a blood marker that helps detect serious bacterial infections and sepsis. By giving clinicians and laboratory professionals much-needed clarity on how to best use procalcitonin tests, the new guidelines could improve the treatment of critically ill patients and those with certain lower respiratory infections.

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A new study from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis suggests that some dangerous bloodstream infections in premature infants may be caused by strains of bacteria already lurking in their gut microbiomes.

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Strategies to treat pain without triggering dangerous side effects such as euphoria and addiction have proven elusive. Now scientists at Washington University School of Medicine have identified a potential pathway to pain relief that neither triggers addiction nor causes hallucinations.

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A new study found a declining proportion of DATA-waivered clinicians prescribed any buprenorphine between 2017 and 2021. While the number of waivered clinicians increased significantly during the five-year window, only one out of three prescribed any buprenorphine as of May 2021. Furthermore, the majority of prescriptions were written by clinicians who specialize in treating opioid use disorder. The new study was published as a research letter in JAMA.

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Mountainside Medical Center received an “A” Hospital Safety Grade from The Leapfrog Group, a national nonprofit upholding the standard of patient safety in hospitals and ambulatory surgery centers. This distinction celebrates the hospital’s achievements in prioritizing patient safety by protecting patients from preventable harm and errors.

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For the first time, USC Verdugo Hills Hospital (USC-VHH) earned an “A” Hospital Safety Grade from The Leapfrog Group, an independent national watchdog organization, for achieving the highest national standards in patient safety. This achievement places USC-VHH among top tier hospitals in the nation for safety and quality.

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Today, Georgia Gov. Brian P. Kemp signed into law Senate Bill 197, a vital patient safety measure that prevents the use of medical and medical specialty titles, including “anesthesiologist,” by health care practitioners who are not physicians.

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For millions of Americans that suffer from seasonal allergies (pollen and mold), climate change is exacerbating an earlier, longer, and overall worse allergy season.

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New findings conflict with previous national research: Women who underwent elective induction in this sample were more likely to have a cesarean birth compared with those who underwent expectant management.

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Cedars-Sinai recently appointed distinguished surgical oncologist Cristina Ferrone, MD, as chair of the Department of Surgery.

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For cricotracheal resections, an innovative brace-method enables children to receive life saving treatment otherwise not possible.

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A national pilot program designed to improve outcomes for elderly surgical patients is scalable and can be implemented in a wide range of hospital types—from community hospitals to urban academic medical centers, according to a study published this week in the Journal of the American College of Surgeons (JACS).

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In a new translational study from UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center, researchers analyzed genetic changes in the organs of recently deceased patients to understand how metastatic cutaneous melanoma spreads in those who had initially benefited from precision therapies.

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NCCN has published a new addition to its library of patient resources, expanding the information available for breast cancer. The new NCCN Guidelines for Patients: Inflammatory Breast Cancer joins patient and caregiver resources for Breast Cancer Screening and Diagnosis, Ductal Carcinoma In Situ, Invasive Breast Cancer, and Metastatic Breast Cancer.

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A pilot study conducted at Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) shows evidence that a mid-calf nerve block is a safe and effective regional anesthetic option for foot and ankle surgeries and may enable faster recovery of motor function of the ankle joint compared with a popliteal block. These findings were presented at the 2023 Spring American Society of Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine (ASRA) Annual Meeting.

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In a study conducted at Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS), researchers found that the use of peripheral nerve blocks in total knee and total hip arthroplasty were associated with a consistent reduction in risk for postoperative complications in patients with a lower comorbidity burden. In particular, the most consistent reduction in risk of complications and use of hospital resources was in older patients with no comorbidity burden. These findings were presented at the 2023 Spring American Society of Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine (ASRA) Annual Meeting and were acknowledged as one of the President’s Choice Abstracts.1

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Findings from a Cleveland Clinic-led study showed for patients with community-acquired pneumonia treated with intravenous (IV) antibiotics, earlier switching to oral antibiotics in clinically stable patients was associated with shorter duration of antibiotics and hospital stay.

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Researcher will discuss the study which involved a sleeping aid known as suvorexant that is already approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for insomnia, hints at the potential of sleep medications to slow or stop the progression of Alzheimer’s disease.

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When Kathryn Garcia Castro’s twins were born in 2015, they were 14 weeks early. One weighed 2 pounds; the other just 1 pound. The twins were in the Cedars-Sinai Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) for three months, and Garcia Castro spent every day with them.

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To address the unique needs of today’s patients with breast disease and breast cancer, the American College of Surgeons (ACS) National Accreditation Program for Breast Centers (NAPBC) has released new standards for accredited centers that place patients at the center of the framework.

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Up to 70 percent of patients in ICUs receive antibiotic therapy on any given day, and 30 to 60 percent of those prescriptions are unnecessary. A study in U.S. ICUs reveals that there continues to be an “antibiotic culture,” meaning that the preference for antibiotics is related to their perceived role as “magic bullets.” Findings showed a context-specific culture of antibiotic prescribing most closely associated with the patient load and ICU processes. Antibiotic prescribing was shaped by urgency, hierarchy and uncertainty.

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Black and socioeconomically disadvantaged patients with peripheral arterial disease have more severe symptoms before bypass surgery – and are at greater risk for amputation and other complications after the procedure, a new study shows. Researchers say health care providers need to recognize the vulnerability of certain subgroups to adverse outcomes and be on alert for early signs and symptoms of PAD to manage patients accordingly.

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UHealth – University of Miami Health System and the Miller School of Medicine are collaborating with CLEAR (NYSE: YOU), the trusted secure identity company, to develop and roll out a series of integrations to improve patient and employee experiences.

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Vestibular schwannomas related to neurofibromatosis type 2 (NF2) are difficult to manage and are sometimes treated with a noninvasive option, stereotactic radiosurgery. A retrospective study conducted by an international, multicenter team found that stereotactic radiosurgery is effective for patients with these tumors while preserving serviceable hearing and not causing radiation-related tumor development or malignant transformation.

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El uso de la prescripción de opioides puede tener un efecto negativo en la función cognitiva de los adultos mayores de acuerdo con un estudio reciente de Mayo Clinic publicado en la revista de la Sociedad Estadounidense de Geriatría.