Value-based Care
Randomized Trial: Enhanced Recovery After Surgery at Cesarean Delivery to Reduce Postoperative Length of Stay
14 May, 2020 | 02:29h | UTCRelated Study (just published): A Randomized Controlled Trial of Enhanced Recovery After Surgery Versus Standard of Care Recovery for Emergency Cesarean Deliveries at Mbarara Hospital, Uganda – Anesthesia & Analgesia
See also: Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) Guidelines for Perioperative Care in Cesarean Delivery (guidelines on the subject)
[Abstract Only] Study: No Increased Risk of Infections with Resterilized and Reused Pacemakers or Defibrillators
11 May, 2020 | 00:21h | UTCInfections Associated with Resterilized Pacemakers and Defibrillators – New England Journal of Medicine (link to abstract – $ for full-text)
Commentaries: Infections With Resterilized Pacemakers and Defibrillators – American College of Cardiology AND No increased risk of infection with recycled pacemakers and defibrillators – Cardiovascular Business
Confronting the COVID-19 Surgery Crisis: Time for Transformational Change
7 May, 2020 | 09:11h | UTCCommentary: Transforming surgery in the aftermath of COVID-19 – Canadian Medical Association Journal
Pooling of Samples for Testing for SARS-CoV-2 in Asymptomatic People
30 Apr, 2020 | 04:25h | UTCPooling of samples for testing for SARS-CoV-2 in asymptomatic people – The Lancet Infectious Diseases AND Commentary: Virologists show that sample pooling can massively increase coronavirus testing capacity – Saarland University
Related Preprint Study: Smart Pooled sample Testing for COVID-19: A Possible Solution for Sparsity of Test Kits – medRxiv AND Commentary: ‘Smart sample pooling’ for COVID-19 could solve test kit shortage problem – News Medical
Low-cost, Easy-to-build Non-Invasive Pressure Support Ventilator for Under-resourced Regions: Open Source Hardware Description, Performance and Feasibility Testing
23 Apr, 2020 | 09:26h | UTC
NIH Study Validates Decontamination Methods for Re-use of N95 Respirators
16 Apr, 2020 | 02:50h | UTCNews Release: NIH study validates decontamination methods for re-use of N95 respirators – NIH News Releases
Original Study: [Preprint] Assessment of N95 respirator decontamination and re-use for SARS-CoV-2 – medRxiv
FDA Issues Emergency Use Authorization to Decontaminate Millions of N95 Respirators
15 Apr, 2020 | 03:38h | UTCCommentary: FDA clears N95 decontamination process that could clean up to 4 million masks per day – Tech Crunch
Implementation Guide: Triage of Scarce Critical Care Resources in COVID-19
15 Apr, 2020 | 03:23h | UTC
Perspective: Virtual Health Care in the Era of COVID-19
15 Apr, 2020 | 03:18h | UTCVirtual health care in the era of COVID-19 – The Lancet
Related: Rapidly Converting to “Virtual Practices”: Outpatient Care in the Era of Covid-19 (several texts on the subject)
Mechanical Ventilators Adapted from BiPAP machines?
13 Apr, 2020 | 00:17h | UTC- Modified Sleep Apnea Machines May Ease the Ventilator Crunch – Wired
- Mechanical ventilators based on a simple modification of CPAP and BiPAP machines – News Medical
- A NYC hospital has figured out how to turn sleep apnea machines it got from Elon Musk into ventilators for coronavirus patients – Business Insider
- Turning sleep apnea machines into ventilators – Berkley Engineering
See instructions and protocols developed by Mount Sinai Health System: Repurposing bi-level ventilators for use with intubated patients while minimizing risk to health care works during insufficient supply of conventional ventilation for patients with COVID-19
We want to learn more about this interesting initiative!
Podcast: Reusing Face Masks and N95 Respirators
10 Apr, 2020 | 02:54h | UTCCoronavirus (COVID-19) Update: Reusing Face Masks and N95 Respirators – JAMA
Related Report: N95 mask can be decontaminated without decreasing filtration efficiency – Stanford Medicine
Related Website: N95DECON: A scientific consortium for data-driven study of N95 filtering facepiece respirator decontamination AND Commentary: New website explains how hospitals can decontaminate and reuse scarce N95 masks to fight COVID-19 – Stanford News
Related Guidance: N95 Re-Use Instructions – SAGES
COVID-19: Rapidly Converting to “Virtual Practices”
6 Apr, 2020 | 01:31h | UTCRapidly Converting to “Virtual Practices”: Outpatient Care in the Era of Covid-19 – NEJM Catalyst
Related: Telemedicine in the Time of Coronavirus – Journal of Pain and Symptom Management AND The rise of telemedicine: How COVID-19 is fundamentally changing healthcare for all of us – Medium AND Telemedicine is essential amid the covid-19 crisis and after it – The Economist AND Virtually Perfect? Telemedicine for Covid-19 – New England Journal of Medicine AND Doctors and Patients Turn to Telemedicine in the Coronavirus Outbreak – The New York Times AND Telemedicine Arrives in the U.K.: ‘10 Years of Change in One Week’ – New York Times AND The Coronavirus Outbreak Could Finally Make Telemedicine Mainstream in the U.S. – TIME (free)
CDC Guidance: Decontamination and Reuse of Filtering Facepiece Respirators
2 Apr, 2020 | 04:24h | UTC
N95 Re-Use Instructions
30 Mar, 2020 | 02:06h | UTCN95 Re-Use Instructions – SAGES
Related: Conserving Supply of Personal Protective Equipment—A Call for Ideas – JAMA AND N95 mask can be decontaminated without decreasing filtration efficiency – Stanford Medicine
Pill Splitting: Making the Most of Meds in a Time of Need
25 Mar, 2020 | 02:29h | UTC
Report: N95 Mask Decontamination
25 Mar, 2020 | 02:18h | UTCReport: N95 mask can be decontaminated without decreasing filtration efficiency – Stanford Medicine
“Stanford: N95 masks can be decontaminated without decreasing filtration efficiency using 70C heat for 30 min. Alcohol and bleach should not be used.” (via @CMichaelGibson see Tweet)
Fair Allocation of Scarce Medical Resources in the Time of Covid-19
24 Mar, 2020 | 11:42h | UTCCommentary: Life, or death? Experts guide pandemic medical equipment decisions – CIDRAP
Related Perspective: The Toughest Triage — Allocating Ventilators in a Pandemic – New England Journal of Medicine
FDA Recommendations for Conserving Medical Supplies
24 Mar, 2020 | 11:23h | UTC- Ventilator Supply Mitigation Strategies: Letter to Health Care Providers – U.S. Food & Drug Administration
- Medical Glove Conservation Strategies: Letter to Health Care Providers – U.S. Food & Drug Administration
- Surgical Mask and Gown Conservation Strategies – Letter to Healthcare Providers – U.S. Food & Drug Administration
See also: Strategies for Optimizing the Supply of Facemasks – Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (free)
5 Ways Research Could Save the NHS Money
13 Mar, 2020 | 07:57h | UTC5 Ways Research Could Save the NHS Money – NIHR Highlight (free)
AHRQ Report: 47 Practices to Improve Patient Safety
11 Mar, 2020 | 08:31h | UTCNews Release: AHRQ Report Reviews 47 Practices To Improve Patient Safety – Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (free)
Review: Medical Reversals in Family Practice
8 Mar, 2020 | 20:40h | UTCMedical Reversals in Family Practice: A Review – Current Therapeutic Research (free PDF)
Related: Meta-Research: A Comprehensive Review of Randomized Trials Leading to “Medical Reversals” in Three Medical Journals (free)
Choosing Wisely in Rhinology: Five Things Physicians and Patients Should Question
8 Mar, 2020 | 20:38h | UTCChoosing Wisely Canada rhinology recommendations – Journal of Otolaryngology – Head & Neck Surgery (free)
See complete lists of low-value practices: Choosing Wisely U.S. / Choosing Wisely UK / Choosing Wisely Australia AND Choosing Wisely Canada
Study: Low Back and Neck Pain Tops U.S. Health Spending
4 Mar, 2020 | 08:32h | UTCLow back and neck pain tops U.S. health spending – Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (free)
Original Study: US Health Care Spending by Payer and Health Condition, 1996-2016 – JAMA (free for a limited period)
Related Commentary on Twitter
The US #healthcare spending, by condition and payer, for the past 20 years, by @IHME_UW @JAMA_current
A noteworthy figure that sums up the 2016 story.
Musculoskeletal and #diabetes are the top 2 burdenshttps://t.co/6yWAbrKtxl pic.twitter.com/jfyTegCHuf— Eric Topol (@EricTopol) March 3, 2020
Study: People Leave Hospital After Surgery Sooner if Hospitals Follow ‘Enhanced Recovery Protocols’
3 Mar, 2020 | 07:55h | UTCPeople leave hospital after surgery sooner if hospitals follow ‘enhanced recovery protocols’ – NIHR Signal (free)
Original Study: Multicomponent hospital-led interventions to reduce hospital stay for older adults following elective surgery: a systematic review – Health Services and Delivery Research (free)
Study: Economic Burden Associated with Extended-Release vs. Immediate-Release Drug Formulations
1 Mar, 2020 | 19:43h | UTCCommentary: Extended-release drugs could be costing U.S. healthcare system billions – Reuters (free)