… J Gen Intern Med … Deprescribing is one strategy to reduce … et al. Deprescribing for Community-Dwelling Older Adults: a Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.  J Gen Intern Med . 2020;35(11):3323-3332. …

Multiple studies have linked poor teamwork and communication to adverse events in the operating room. There is a growing recognition that surgeons must learn these nontechnical skills during training in addition to the traditional focus on technical ability. In this controlled study, surgical residents participated in an educational intervention (a simulated surgical emergency) that simultaneously targeted technical and nontechnical skill development. The study used two different types of simulation—high fidelity (a cadaver) and medium fidelity (an anatomically correct mannequin)—compared to a control group, which used a nonanatomic simulator. Investigators found that nontechnical skills improved in both intervention groups compared to the control group, measured using validated teamwork assessments. As the accompanying editorial notes, the study findings indicate that technical and nontechnical skills may be best taught together, as teamwork skills improved when residents also had to perform a simulated surgical task simultaneously.

Overuse of antibiotics is a major factor in the development of certain types of health care–associated infections. This retrospective study found that unnecessary antibiotic use was often a result of diagnostic error, particularly in patients who were empirically treated for urinary tract infections without clear diagnostic evidence. The results of this study imply that addressing diagnostic uncertainty should be a component of antimicrobial stewardship programs.

The investigators reviewed the literature on two types of antimicrobial urinary catheters and found that the evidence supports their ability to prevent infection.