The Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC), the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA), the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society (PIDS), and the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) are calling on the CDC to reinstate the Healthcare Infection Control Practices Advisory Committee (HICPAC), a vital source of expert, evidence-based guidance used nationwide to prevent healthcare-associated infections. The termination of HICPAC leaves a critical gap in the nation’s infection prevention infrastructure, especially as threats like antimicrobial resistance and emerging pathogens grow. The societies emphasize that HICPAC’s interdisciplinary approach and decades of trusted guidance are irreplaceable for protecting patients, healthcare workers, and public health.

More people are landing in the hospital with cannabis-related problems—and for many, a mental health condition is the primary issue, according to a new study published in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs.

CLEVELAND, Ohio (May 7, 2025)—Many women struggle to find resources to help manage their menopause symptoms. For women living with a serious mental illness, the need for additional support and education during the menopause transition is even greater. A new scoping review confirmed the paucity of research on this topic and suggested a need for more psychoeducation programs. Results of the study are published online today in Menopause, the journal of The Menopause Society.

Background: Percutaneous lung biopsy (PLB) is currently widely utilized in the diagnosis and treatment of lung tumors, owing to its advantages of minimal trauma, high detection rate, and precise localization. However, traditional computed tomography (CT)-guided freehand PLB procedures often involve multiple puncture adjustments and a relatively high incidence of complications. The aim of this study is to investigate whether laser-guided technology can effectively reduce the operative time and incidence of complications.

Methods: This study included 141 patients who underwent CT-guided PLB at the First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University between January 2022 and January 2024. These patients were divided into two groups based on the use of laser-guided technology during the procedure: the laser-guided group (47 patients) and the manual group (94 patients). Clinical data from all patients were collected. Information such as the success rate of biopsy procedures and the incidence of complications was analyzed and compared.

Results: The procedure time in the laser-guided group was shorter than that in the manual group (P=0.008). In the laser-guided group, the number of adjustments needed to reach the tumor during the positioning step was less than the manual group (P=0.001). In the laser-guided group, the number of CT scans performed before reaching the tumor was smaller than in the manual group (P=0.01). The distance from the first puncture to the lung tumor in the laser-guided group was closer than that in the manual group (P=0.049). The laser-guided group had a smaller angular deviation from the target at the first puncture than the manual group (P=0.004).

Conclusions: Laser-guided technology has the advantages of shorter operation time and less adjustment of biopsy needles. However, laser-guided technology does not reduce the complication rate of biopsy surgery or the length of hospital stay after surgery and there is no statistical difference in the accuracy of pathological diagnoses obtained by the two methods.

Keywords: Laser-guided technology; percutaneous lung biopsy (PLB); lung cancer; pulmonary nodules

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