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Background: General anesthesia is often necessary for dental treatment of outpatients with mental disabilities. Rapid recovery and effective management of postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV) are critical for outpatients. This study aimed to investigate the effect of transitioning from propofol to remimazolam with flumazenil reversal administered toward the end of surgery during propofol-based total intravenous anesthesia (TIVA) on recovery. Methods: Adults with mental disabilities scheduled to undergo dental treatment were randomly assigned to receive either propofol-based TIVA (Group P) or propofol-remimazolam-based TIVA with flumazenil reversal (Group PR). Propofol was replaced with remimazolam 1 h before the end of surgery in Group PR; moreover, 0.5 mg of flumazenil was administered after the neuromuscular blockade reversal agent. The primary outcome was the duration of stay in the post-anesthesia care unit (PACU). The secondary outcomes included time to eye-opening, time to extubation, occurrence of PONV, and quality of recovery. Results: Fifty-four patients were included in this study. The duration of stay in the PACU in Group PR was significantly shorter than that in Group P (mean difference, 8.7 min; confidence interval [95% CI], 3.3–14.2; P = 0.002). Group PR exhibited a shorter time to eye opening (mean difference, 5.4 min; 95% CI, 3.3–8.1; P < 0.001) and time to extubation (mean difference, 5.5 min; 95% CI, 3.6–7.9; P < 0.001) than Group P. Neither group required the administration of rescue analgesics, and the incidence of PONV was not reported. Conclusions: Transitioning from propofol to remimazolam 1 h before the end of surgery followed by flumazenil reversal reduced the duration of stay in the PACU and the time to eye opening and extubation without affecting the incidence of PONV and quality of recovery. Trial registration number: Clinical Research Information Service (KCT0007794), Clinical trial first registration date: 12/10/2022. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Inappropriate use of antibiotics not only increases antibiotic resistance as collateral damage but also increases clinical failure rates and medical costs. The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between the appropriateness of antibiotic prescription and outcomes of community-acquired acute pyelonephritis (CA-APN).Methods: A multicenter prospective cohort study was conducted at eight hospitals in Korea between September 2017 and August 2018. All hospitalized patients aged ≥ 19 years who were diagnosed with CA-APN on admission were recruited. The appropriateness of empirical and definitive antibiotics, as well as the appropriateness of antibiotic treatment duration and route of administration, was evaluated in accordance with the guideline and expert opinions. Clinical outcomes and medical costs were compared between patients who were administered antibiotics 'appropriately' and 'inappropriately.'Results: A total of 397 and 318 patients were eligible for the analysis of the appropriateness of empirical and definitive antibiotics, respectively. Of them, 10 (2.5%) and 18 (5.7%) were administered 'inappropriately' empirical and definitive antibiotics, respectively. Of the 119 patients whose use of both empirical and definitive antibiotics was classified as 'optimal,' 57 (47.9%) received antibiotics over a longer duration than that recommended; 67 (56.3%) did not change to oral antibiotics on day 7 of hospitalization, even after stabilization of the clinical symptoms. Patients who were administered empirical antibiotics 'appropriately' had shorter hospitalization days (8 vs. 10 days, P = 0.001) and lower medical costs (2381.9 vs. 3235.9 USD, P = 0.002) than those who were administered them 'inappropriately.' Similar findings were observed for patients administered both empirical and definitive antibiotics 'appropriately' and those administered either empirical or definitive antibiotics 'inappropriately'.Conclusions: Appropriate use of antibiotics leads to better outcomes, including reduced hospitalization duration and medical costs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Functional dyspepsia (FD) is a prevalent gastric disorder that is difficult to manage due to lack of satisfactory treatments. Acupuncture has been studied with regard to the rising need for treating FD, but the mechanism verifying its efficacy has not yet been fully revealed. The aim of this study is to explore the efficacy and mechanism of acupuncture for FD compared with a sham group. Methods/design: We describe a proposal for a randomized, assessor-blind, sham-controlled trial with 70 eligible participants who will be randomly allocated either into an acupuncture or a sham group. Participants in the acupuncture group will receive 10 sessions of real acupuncture treatment and those in the sham group will be treated with identical sessions using a Streitberger needle. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and metabolomics studies will be implemented before and after 4 weeks of treatment to investigate the mechanism of acupuncture. The primary outcome is a proportion of responders with adequate symptom relief and the secondary outcomes include the Nepean Dyspepsia Index - Korean version, Functional Dyspepsia-Related Quality of Life questionnaire, Ways of Coping Questionnaire, Coping Strategies Questionnaire, perception of bodily sensation questionnaire, State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, and the Center for Epidemiological Studies - Depression Scale. The outcomes will be evaluated before and after the treatment. Discussion: This is the first large-scale trial evaluating the efficacy and mechanism of acupuncture with fMRI and metabolomic methods. We will compare real acupuncture with the Streitberger sham needle to verify the specific effect of acupuncture. The results of this trial are expected to be relevant evidences affecting policy and decision-makers associated with routine healthcare. Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02358486 . Date of Registration: 21 January 2015. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]