Patient Safety & Outcomes

The inclusion of mood disorders in the CDC's recent update to its list of conditions tied to a higher risk of severe COVID-19 makes millions of people with such conditions now eligible for booster vaccine doses, The Washington Post reported…

The FDA is requiring plastic surgeons to warn patients about the potential complications of breast implants as part of new safety requirements issued Oct. 27.

Some people with compromised immune systems who received Moderna or Pfizer's mRNA COVID-19 vaccine may get a fourth shot, according to CDC guidance updated Oct. 25.

On October 16, 2021, the medical field celebrated the 175th anniversary of anesthesiology.

People vaccinated against COVID-19 are not at an increased risk of death and are actually less likely to die of other causes compared to unvaccinated individuals, the CDC said in an Oct. 22 report.

While the delta COVID-19 variant is known to be more transmissible, it isn't closely linked to more severe outcomes among hospitalized patients, according to the CDC's Oct. 22 Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. 

A study published Oct. 22 in JAMA Open Network found patients hospitalized with COVID-19 were three times more likely to show a decline in cognitive function compared to COVID-19 patients who did not require that level of care.

Safety performance declined across the entire healthcare industry in 2020, according to an analysis published Oct. 21 by Press Ganey. 

Surgeons at New York City-based NYU Langone Health Kidney said a kidney from a genetically engineered pig was attached to a human in September and seemed to function normally, marking a medical breakthrough, The New York Times reported Oct. 19. 

The CDC made several additions to its list of underlying medical conditions associated with a higher risk of severe COVID-19 outcomes in an Oct. 14 update, including certain lung diseases and mental health conditions.