Medicine
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Multicenter Study
Gender difference in the clinical outcomes of patients with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest: A report using data from a national Korean registry.
We explored gender differences in the characteristics and outcomes of patients with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) in Korea. We retrospectively analyzed a nationwide multicenter registry of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest patients that prospectively collected from January to December 2014, and explored the clinical outcomes of 670 successfully resuscitated adult patients with OHCA who were transferred to 27 hospitals. The effect of gender on the 30-day neurologically favorable survival (cerebral performance category 1 or 2) was analyzed after propensity score matching (PSM) of each patient in terms of clinical characteristics. ⋯ However, the gender difference was not significant on PSM or inverse probability of treatment weighting (IPTW) analyses (P = .48 and P = .63, respectively). Female patients with OHCA exhibited poorer clinical characteristics and were less likely to receive treatment than men. After accounting for these differences, clinical outcomes did not differ by gender.
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Review Case Reports
Severe Guillain-Barré syndrome associated with chronic hepatitis B: A case report and literature review.
Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) is a postinfectious autoimmune peripheral neuropathy characterized by acute paralysis of the limbs. Clinically, extrahepatic manifestations of neurologic involvement in chronic hepatitis B (CHB) are uncommon. Little attention has been paid to the relationship between GBS and CHB viral infection. ⋯ The acute exacerbation of CHB may be a potential predisposing factor for the onset of GBS. This case is a reminder to clinicians that during the acute exacerbation of CHB, patients with neurological symptoms in the limbs should be considered for potential CHB-related GBS.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
The effects of a pharmacist-led medication review in a nursing home: A randomized controlled trial.
In this study, an intensive review of pharmaceutical care for elderly patients was conducted in a Veterans Administration nursing home in Taiwan and its effects were evaluated. ⋯ In this study, the intensive review of the elderly patients' medications revealed that the only significant effect of pharmaceutical care was on "all outcomes." A possible reason for this is the rather advanced ages of some patients who needed a considerable number of medications to treat several chronic diseases. Another reason may be the small sample size. However, participants who received the pharmacist intervention did have higher satisfaction with medication reconciliation and fewer drug-related problems.
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Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a functional bowel disorder with symptoms of recurrent abdominal pain associated with a change in stool frequency or appearance that decreases patient quality of life. Conventional Western medicine has limited efficacy in treating IBS. Tongsayobang (TSYB) is a traditional Korean medicine that has been used to treat lower intestinal problems. This study provides a procedure for conducting a systematic review of the efficacy and safety of TSYB for IBS. ⋯ DOI 10.17605/OSF.IO/M32BK (https://osf.io/m32bk).
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Delirium is a common postoperative complication. Many studies have found that dexmedetomidine is associated with a reduced incidence of postoperative delirium (POD). This meta-analysis aimed to analyze the effects of dexmedetomidine on POD incidence among elderly patients undergoing general anesthesia. ⋯ Our meta-analysis suggests that dexmedetomidine may significantly reduce POD incidence in elderly noncardiac surgery patients and when applied during the postoperative period, in addition, both low- and normal-doses of dexmedetomidine may reduce POD incidence. However, its use in cardiac surgery patients and during the intra- or perioperative period may have no significant effects on POD incidence.