Critical Care News

Although overall postoperative misuse of opioids was low, refills and longer durations of prescriptions increased the risk for abuse, according to findings published in the BMJ.

Surgical left atrial appendage occlusion was linked to lower risk for readmission for thromboembolism at 3 years among older patients with atrial fibrillation undergoing concomitant cardiac surgery, according to data published in JAMA.

The number of opioid prescriptions originating from EDs are small and have been declining since 1996, according to research published in Annals of Emergency Medicine.

Risk factors for mortality after surgery, including use of ventilation, oxygen support and wound infections, are more prevalent in black children than in white children and pose a significantly greater risk of death, according to research published in Pediatrics.

Adolescents who underwent metabolic and bariatric surgery had improvements in various CVD risk factors, according to a study published in Pediatrics.

Adults with diabetes who reported unstable housing had higher rates of diabetes-related ED visits and hospitalizations compared with those who reported stable housing, according to findings published in Diabetes Care.

Patients treated by first-year hospitalists have a greater risk for death than those seen by more experienced hospitalists, according to a study published in JAMA Internal Medicine.

Higher amounts of physical activity increased physical function of quality of life and submaximal exercise capacity in patients with HF with preserved ejection fraction, according to a study published in ESC Heart Failure.

Consultation between emergency medical services and primary care physicians safely triaged elderly residents in assistant living with simple falls, significantly decreasing unnecessary transport to the ED, according to findings published in Annals of Internal Medicine.

Data from an analysis of the National Inpatient Sample show mortality rates for opioid-driven hospitalizations more than doubled between 2000 and 2007, and nearly doubled again by 2014.