Monthly Archives: April 2018

  Today's Top Story Study: Implementation of HRRP linked to reduction in readmissions after TKA and THA Findings published in the March issue of the journal JAMA Surgery suggest that implementation of the Medicare Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program (HRRP) was associated with a reduction in readmissions following total knee arthroplasty (TKA) and total hip arthroplasty (THA). The researchers conducted a retrospective, cohort study of 672,135 Medicare beneficiaries across 2,773 hospitals, 507,663 of whom underwent HRRP-targeted procedures (TKA and [...]

  Today's Top Story FDA announces recalls of certain Premier Pharmacy Labs injectables; Haemonetics Acrodose PLus and PL Systems The U.S. Food and Drug Administration states that Premier Pharmacy Labs is voluntarily recalling certain lots of morphine sulfate, hydromorphone HCL, and neostigmine methylsulfate due to a potential lack of sterility assurance. Microbial contamination was detected during routine testing of subsequent unreleased product lots due to interaction between the product syringe and tamper evident container closure, which may result [...]

  Today's Top Story Report finds orthopaedists second in physician compensation, with lowest percentage of women Medscape has released its 2018 Physician Compensation Report. The report finds the mean compensation for orthopaedic surgeons to be $497,000, second to plastic surgeons at $501,000. On average, compensation for orthopaedic surgeons increased by 2 percent over the previous year, and 51 percent of orthopaedists consider themselves fairly compensated. Overall, 76 percent of orthopaedist respondents would choose to enter the medical field [...]

  Today's Top Story Study: Adding peripheral nerve blocks to PAI may reduce pain and opioid consumption for TKA patients Data presented at the annual meeting of the American Society of Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine (ASRA) suggest that adding peripheral nerve blocks to periarticular injection (PAI) for total knee arthroplasty (TKA) may help reduce postoperative pain and opioid consumption. The authors conducted a double-blind, randomized, controlled trial of 86 TKA patients who received either a periarticular injection [...]

  Today's Top Story Study: One-stage revision strategy may be as effective as two-stage for PJI of the hip Findings from a study published online in the European Journal of Epidemiology suggest that a one-stage revision strategy may be as effective as a two-stage revision strategy in treating periprosthetic joint infection (PJI) of the hip. The researchers conducted a meta-analysis of 1,856 patients with PJI of the hip from 44 cohorts across four continents. They identified 222 reinfections [...]

  Today's Top Story CMS adjusts Medicare opioid proposal to address provider concerns The U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has updated a final rule proposal that among other things, impacts the prescribing of opioids to Medicare beneficiaries. The Hill reports that under the update, when pharmacists receive a prescription for 90 milligrams of morphine or more per day, they will be required to contact the prescriber, and document the discussion and prescriber approval prior to [...]

  Today's Top Story Study: General anesthesia linked to increased risk of mortality among elderly hip fracture patients Findings published online in the journal Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research suggest that use of general anesthesia and conversion from regional to general anesthesia may be associated with increased risk of mortality for older patients with hip fracture. The authors reviewed data on 16,695 patients aged 65 years or older. Compared with regional anesthesia, they found that patients treated with [...]