FDA and Partners Working to Prevent Surgical Fires
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is building a coalition of public and private healthcare organizations to prevent a medical error the surgical fire. A surgical fire is a fire that occurs in, on or around a patient undergoing a medical or surgical procedure. An estimated 550 to 650 surgical fires happen every year in U.S. operating rooms. Some of the fires cause disfiguring second- and third-degree burns. If the fire occurs in the patient's airway, it can be fatal.
Recently there have been news reports about two patients who received serious facial burns from surgical fires. FDA's Preventing Surgical Fires Initiative (www.fda.gov/preventingsurgicalfires) is a collaborative effort to increase awareness of the risk of these fires and to encourage surgical personnel to work together to adopt practices that will prevent them from occurring. The initiative partners include associations that represent members of surgical teams, healthcare facilities, and healthcare engineering and patient safety organizations.
Â
Comprehensive Strategies in Wound Care: Insights From Madhavi Ponnapalli, MD
November 22nd 2024Madhavi Ponnapalli, MD, discusses effective wound care strategies, including debridement techniques, offloading modalities, appropriate dressing selection, compression therapy, and nutritional needs for optimal healing outcomes.
The Leapfrog Group and the Positive Effect on Hospital Hand Hygiene
November 21st 2024The Leapfrog Group enhances hospital safety by publicizing hand hygiene performance, improving patient safety outcomes, and significantly reducing health care-associated infections through transparent standards and monitoring initiatives.
Why Clinical Expertise Is the Cornerstone to Your Most Profitable Business Line
November 14th 2024Perioperative nurses bring vital skills in patient safety, infection control, and quality improvement. They enhance surgical outcomes and support health care systems during complex, high-risk procedures.
Strengthening Defenses: Integrating Infection Control With Antimicrobial Stewardship
October 11th 2024Use this handout to explain the basics of why infection prevention and control and antimicrobial stewardship are essential and how the 2 fields must have a unified approach to patient and staff safety
Blood Product Overtransfusion Is a Global Issue: Here Are 5 Reasons the Practice Must Change
October 9th 2024If a patient receives treatment or therapy that they do not need, it can cause unnecessary harm. This is true for medications, surgeries, and medical procedures, especially blood transfusions.
