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Background: This meta-analysis aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of electroacupuncture (EA) in improving postoperative ileus after colorectal surgery. Methods: Electronic databases (e.g. Medline) were screened to identify randomized controlled trials that focused on the association between EA and postoperative ileus. Time to first flatus served as the primary outcome, while the secondary outcomes included time required for the recovery of other gastrointestinal functions (e.g. bowel sound recovery), time to tolerability of liquid/solid food, postoperative pain scores, risk of overall complications, and hospital length of stay. Results: Our meta-analysis focusing on 16 studies with a total of 1562 patients demonstrated positive associations of EA with shorter times to the first flatus [mean difference (MD): -10.1 h, P< 0.00001, n =1562], first defecation (MD: -11.77 h, P< 0.00001, n =1231), bowel sound recovery (MD: -10.76 h, P<0.00001, n= 670), tolerability of liquid (MD: -16.44 h, P=0.0002, n=243), and solid food (MD: -17.21 h, P =0.005, n= 582) than those who received standard care. The use of EA was also correlated with a lower risk of overall complications (risk ratio:0.71, P= 0.04, n =1011), shorter hospital length of stay (MD: -1.22 days, P= 0.0001, n =988), and a lower pain score on postoperative days two (standardized MD: - 0.87, P= 0.009, n= 665) and three (standardized MD: -0.45, P<0.00001, n= 795), without a difference in time to first ambulation. Conclusion: Our findings showed an association between EA and enhanced gastrointestinal functional recovery and reduced pain severity following colorectal surgery, highlighting the potential benefits of incorporating EA into perioperative care to enhance recovery outcomes in this setting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Droperidol is a short-acting, potent dopamine D2 antagonist that can pass through the blood-brain barrier. A black box warning was issued for droperidol by the United States Food and Drug Administration in 2001 because of a risk of development of torsades de pointes induced by QT prolongation. Many experts feel that the incidence of arrhythmia is overestimated, and low-dose droperidol is almost always used by anesthesiologists for postoperative nausea and vomiting. In this review, we used evidence-based analysis to appraise high-quality studies with a low risk of bias published after 2001 on the use of droperidol in the emergency department (ED). Droperidol appears not only efficacious but also safe to treat patients with nausea/vomiting, acute psychosis, and migraine in the ED. For these conditions, droperidol may be an option for shared decision-making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Infection‑induced inflammatory response might be aggravated by surgery insults. The clinical presentation of Surgical Intensive Care Unit (SICU) patients might be different from medical critically ill patients. Purpose: To evaluate the diagnostic and prognostic values of procalcitonin (PCT) to predict bacterial infection in SICU patients. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed the 2‑year (2013 and 2014) records of 342 adult SICU cases with suspected bacterial infection in SICU of Hualien Tzu Chi Hospital. The past histories, the first infection‑related parameters when SICU admission, culture results, infection‑related laboratory examinations, and outcomes were collected. Results: Median of PCT level in patients with negative and any positive culture was 0.84 (interquartile range [IQR] 0.18–6.21) and 2.27 (IQR 0.54–9.93) ng/ml, respectively. Infection from blood, urine, and skin/soft tissue elicited significantly higher PCT levels. PCT in receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve demonstrated the most accurate to predict bacterial infection (area under the ROC curve [AUC]: 0.61; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.54–0.63) and bacteremia (AUC: 0.73; 95% CI: 0.66–0.80) compared to white blood cell count, ratio of neutrophils, and neutrophil‑to‑lymphocyte count ratio (NLCR). Significantly higher PCT levels (4.12 ng/ml, 1.12–19.99; median, IQR) were observed in mortality cases. Higher PCT levels were significantly accompanied with higher NLCR, as well as higher incidence of leukopenia and bandemia. Using Kaplan–Meier analysis, significantly higher intrahospital mortality was observed in cases with above the cutoff PCT levels of 0.5 and 2 ng/ml cases, respectively. Conclusion: PCT is a relatively more useful tool to predict bacterial and particularly bloodstream infection compared to other infection‑related parameters in routinely clinical practice. Initial PCT levels may be a prognostic factor of SICU patients with bacterial infection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Sinusitis-related intracranial abscess (ICA) is a rare but serious complication and is different from those of sinusitis-unrelated ICA. Purpose: This study aimed to analyze the differences in bacteriology, host factors, presentations, and prognoses between cases of sinusitis-related and sinusitis-unrelated ICA. Methods: This retrospective study was conducted at Buddhist Tzu Chi General Hospital (Hualien, Taiwan), during January 2010-August 2014, and enrolled patients with pathologically proven postsurgery ICA. P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: The number of patients with sinusitis-related and sinusitis-unrelated ICA was 10 and 17, respectively. Compared with sinusitis-unrelated ICA patients, significantly more patients with sinusitis-related ICA experienced cirrhosis, ophthalmic abnormalities, and frontal and cavernous sinus involvement. Among all ICA patients, diabetes mellitus (DM) was associated with an increased mortality risk. Patients with DM exhibited the highest positive culture rates for Klebsiella pneumoniae. Conclusion: Frontal sinusitis is associated with an increased risk of intracranial invasion. DM and liver cirrhosis patients exhibited the highest mortality rates among all ICA patients. Patient comorbidity should be considered when prescribing antibiotics for treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]