2023 American Society of Anesthesiologists Practice Guidelines for Preoperative Fasting: Carbohydrate-containing Clear Liquids with or without Protein, Chewing Gum, and Pediatric Fasting Duration-A Modular Update of the 2017 American Society of Anesthesiologists Practice Guidelines for Preoperative Fasting.

These practice guidelines are a modular update of the "Practice guidelines for preoperative fasting and the use of pharmacologic agents to reduce the risk of pulmonary aspiration: Application to healthy patients undergoing elective procedures." The guidance focuses on topics not addressed in the previous guideline: ingestion of carbohydrate-containing clear liquids with or without protein, chewing gum, and pediatric fasting duration.

2023 American Society of Anesthesiologists Practice Guidelines for Monitoring and Antagonism of Neuromuscular Blockade: A Report by the American Society of Anesthesiologists Task Force on Neuromuscular Blockade.

These practice guidelines provide evidence-based recommendations on the management of neuromuscular monitoring and antagonism of neuromuscular blocking agents during and after general anesthesia. The guidance focuses primarily on the type and site of monitoring and the process of antagonizing neuromuscular blockade to reduce residual neuromuscular blockade.

A systematic review of the psychosocial impact of fibroids before and after treatment.

OBJECTIVE: Despite the high prevalence of uterine fibroids, the psychosocial impact of fibroids has not been evaluated across different quality of life indicators and compared with other chronic conditions. Here, we rigorously analyzed available evidence pertaining to the psychosocial burden of uterine fibroids in premenopausal women and compared validated quality of life and symptom scores before and after treatment. DATA SOURCES: We searched PubMed, PsycINFO, ClinicalTrials.gov, Embase, and Cochrane Library for publications from January 1990 to January 2020. STUDY ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA: We considered English-language publications that evaluated the association between uterine fibroids diagnosed by imaging studies in premenopausal women and quality of life by standardized and validated questionnaires at baseline and after treatment. We used a detailed list of terms related to quality of life, questionnaires, and uterine fibroids to conduct the search. METHODS: Three reviewers screened titles and abstracts and then obtained full-text articles for further analysis. The reviewers assessed risk of bias using established Cochrane and Newcastle-Ottawa Scale guidelines. The quality of life scores of premenopausal women with fibroids were reviewed at baseline and compared with those of published quality of life scores in other disease populations in addition to after fibroid treatment. RESULTS: A total of 57 studies were included in the review: 18 randomized controlled trials and 39 observational studies. Of note, the 36-Item Short Form Survey and European Quality of Life Five-Dimension Scale questionnaires both indicated a diagnosis of uterine fibroids to have a disability score that was similar to or exceeded (was a greater psychosocial stressor) a diagnosis of heart disease, diabetes mellitus, or breast cancer. Quality of life scores were lower at baseline than after treatment in all instruments measuring these variables in women with uterine fibroids, indicating significantly impaired psychosocial functioning. Uterine fibroids were associated with significant patient-reported health disabilities related to bodily pain, mental health, social functioning, and satisfaction with sex life. CONCLUSION: A diagnosis of uterine fibroids was a significant psychosocial stressor among women at baseline and relative to other diseases. Validated quality of life instruments indicated therapeutic success and the improvement of both physical and emotional symptoms after treatment.

Eliminating Inappropriate Telemetry Monitoring: An Evidence-Based Implementation Guide.

In-hospital continuous electrocardiographic monitoring, commonly referred to as telemetry, has allowed for rapid recognition of life-threatening conditions, including complex arrhythmias and myocardial ischemia. However, inappropriate use can lead to unnecessary downstream testing from "false alarms," which in turn affects clinician efficiency and increases health care costs without benefiting patients. For these reasons, the Society of Hospital Medicine's Choosing Wisely campaign recommended use of a protocol-driven discontinuation of telemetry. The American Heart Association (AHA) developed a set of Practice Standards for the appropriate use of telemetry monitoring in 2004, which they updated in 2017. Unfortunately, the AHA Practice Standards have not been widely adopted-with as many as 43% of monitored patients lacking a recommended indication for monitoring. Thus, we created an overview discussing the safety and efficacy of incorporating the AHA Practice Standards and a review of studies highlighting their successful incorporation within patient care workflow. We conclude by outlining an "implementation blueprint" for health system professionals and administrators seeking to change their institution's culture of telemetry use. As the health care landscape continues to shift, enacting high-value initiatives that improve patient safety and efficiency of care will be critical.

Evidence-Based Guidelines to Eliminate Repetitive Laboratory Testing.

Routine daily laboratory testing of hospitalized patients reflects a wasteful clinical practice that threatens the value of health care. Choosing Wisely initiatives from numerous professional societies have identified repetitive laboratory testing in the face of clinical stability as low value care. Although laboratory expenditure often represents less than 5% of most hospital budgets, the impact is far-reaching given that laboratory tests influence nearly 60% to 70% of all medical decisions. Excessive phlebotomy can lead to hospital-acquired anemia, increased costs, and unnecessary downstream testing and procedures. Efforts to reduce the frequency of laboratory orders can improve patient satisfaction and reduce cost without negatively affecting patient outcomes. To date, numerous interventions have been deployed across multiple institutions without a standardized approach. Health care professionals and administrative leaders should carefully strategize and optimize efforts to reduce daily laboratory testing. This review presents an evidence-based implementation blueprint to guide teams aimed at improving appropriate routine laboratory testing among hospitalized patients.

Effect of menopause hormone therapy on disease progression in systemic lupus erythematosus: A systematic review.

OBJECTIVE: To review the literature pertaining to the effect of postmenopausal hormone therapy on disease progression in women with systemic lupus erythematosus. METHODS: We performed a systematic review using PubMed, Embase, and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials from January 1990 to December 2013 for observational studies and randomized clinical trials that study the effect of hormone therapy on the occurrence of flares in menopausal patients with systemic lupus erythematosus. The screenings of titles and abstracts, full text review, and risk of bias assessments were done by two independent reviewers. RESULTS: A total of 12,548 articles were identified. After title and abstract screening and removal of duplicates, 692 articles were retrieved for full text review. Five studies were deemed eligible for inclusion in the analysis, and the methodological quality was assessed. Two of the studies were randomized controlled trials and three were observational studies. One randomized controlled trial found that menopausal women who received hormone therapy were at a higher risk for developing minor to moderate flares of systemic lupus erythematosus. In the other four studies, there was no significant difference in systemic lupus erythematosus disease activity between hormone therapy and non-hormone therapy users. CONCLUSIONS: Hormone therapy in menopausal patients with systemic lupus erythematosus appears to be well tolerated. While there is some evidence supporting an increase in risk of mild to moderate flares among hormone therapy users, no association was identified between hormone therapy use and severe disease flares. In addition, hormone therapy was associated with significant improvement in menopausal symptoms and quality of life. Larger trials are required to assess the long-term effects of hormone therapy on the course of systemic lupus erythematosus in menopausal patients and to identify patient characteristics associated with an increased risk of flares in the setting of hormone therapy exposure.

Interventions to reduce pediatric medication errors: a systematic review.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Medication errors cause appreciable morbidity and mortality in children. The objective was to determine the effectiveness of interventions to reduce pediatric medication errors, identify gaps in the literature, and perform meta-analyses on comparable studies. METHODS: Relevant studies were identified from searches of PubMed, Embase, Scopus, Web of Science, the Cochrane Library, and the Cumulative Index to Nursing Allied Health Literature and previous systematic reviews. Inclusion criteria were peer-reviewed original data in any language testing an intervention to reduce medication errors in children. Abstract and full-text article review were conducted by 2 independent authors with sequential data extraction. RESULTS: A total of 274 full-text articles were reviewed and 63 were included. Only 1% of studies were conducted at community hospitals, 11% were conducted in ambulatory populations, 10% reported preventable adverse drug events, 10% examined administering errors, 3% examined dispensing errors, and none reported cost-effectiveness data, suggesting persistent research gaps. Variation existed in the methods, definitions, outcomes, and rate denominators for all studies; and many showed an appreciable risk of bias. Although 26 studies (41%) involved computerized provider order entry, a meta-analysis was not performed because of methodologic heterogeneity. Studies of computerized provider order entry with clinical decision support compared with studies without clinical decision support reported a 36% to 87% reduction in prescribing errors; studies of preprinted order sheets revealed a 27% to 82% reduction in prescribing errors. CONCLUSIONS: Pediatric medication errors can be reduced, although our understanding of optimal interventions remains hampered. Research should focus on understudied areas, use standardized definitions and outcomes, and evaluate cost-effectiveness.