Efficacy of adjuvant ozone therapy in reducing postsurgical complications following impacted mandibular third-molar surgery: A systematic review and meta-analysis

BackgroundResults from several randomized controlled trials have shown a beneficial effect of ozone in reducing postsurgical complications after impacted mandibular third-molar surgery, but the literature is lacking a systematic review and meta-analysis.MethodsThe authors conducted this systematic review according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines after exclusion and inclusion criteria were applied and the following outcome parameters were evaluated: pain, swelling, trismus, quality of life, number of analgesics consumed, and adverse events. RevMan Cochrane Collaboration software, Version 5.3, was used to perform meta-analysis and the Grading of Recommendation Assessment, Development and Evaluation approach was used to rate the certainty of evidence.ResultsPatients who underwent adjuvant ozone application reported lower pain scores than patients in the control group at 24 hours after surgery (95% CI, –3.94 to –1.56) and at 7 days (95% CI, –1.67 to –0.78). Pooled analysis of all 4 included trials revealed a standardized mean difference (SMD) in swelling of –0.44 at 24 hours, 0.63 at 72 hours, and –0.87 at 7 days after surgery in the experimental group. Higher mean estimates in mouth opening were experienced by patients who received ozone at 24 hours (SMD, 2.74; 95% CI, –1.93 to 7.41; 4 studies, 133 patients), 72 hours (SMD, 2.77; 95% CI, –0.63 to 6.17; 4 studies, 133 patients), and 7 days after surgery (SMD, 1.42 SMD; 95% CI, –1.34 to 4.18; 4 studies, 133 patients).Practical ImplicationsEvidence suggests that adjuvant ozone application can offer some benefit for reducing pain, improving quality of life, and decreasing mean intake of analgesics after impacted mandibular third-molar surgery, but it is not effective in reducing facial swelling and trismus, which paves the way for future research.     

Apalutamide-induced severe interstitial lung disease: A report of two cases from Japan

Apalutamide, a competitive inhibitor of the androgen receptor, is being increasingly used for the treatment of prostate cancer. There have been few reports of interstitial lung disease in clinical trials of apalutamide. However, two cases of apalutamide-induced interstitial lung disease with respiratory failure in Japanese males, who were successfully treated with high-dose corticosteroids, are presented here. These cases suggest that clinicians should be alert to the potentially life-threatening risk of pulmonary toxicity associated with apalutamide treatment.     

Medicare Reimbursement Trends for Interventional Radiology Procedures: 2012 to 2020

PurposeTo investigate the reimbursement trends for interventional radiology (IR) procedures from 2012 to 2020.Materials and MethodsReimbursement data from the Physician Fee Schedule look-up tool from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services was compiled for 20 common IR procedures. The authors then investigated compensation trends after adjusting for inflation and from the unadjusted data between 2012 and 2020.ResultsFrom 2012 to 2020, the mean unadjusted reimbursement for procedures decreased by ?6.9% (95% confidence interval [CI], ?13.5% to ?0.34%). This trend was even more profound after inflation was taken into account, with a mean decline in adjusted reimbursement of ?18.7% (95% CI, ?24.4% to ?12.9%) during the study period, with a mean yearly decline of ?2.8%. The difference between the mean unadjusted and adjusted payment amounts was significant (P = .012). Similarly, linear regression analysis of the adjusted average reimbursement across all procedures revealed an overall decline from 2012 to 2020 (R² = 0.97), indicating a steady decline in reimbursement over time.ConclusionsIn just under a decade, IR has experienced significant reimbursement cuts by Medicare, as demonstrated by both the unadjusted and inflation-adjusted payment trends. Knowledge of these trends is critically important for practicing interventional radiologists, leaders within the field, and legislators, who may play a role in formulating future reimbursement schedules for IR. These data may be used to help support more amenable reimbursement plans to sustain and facilitate the growth of the specialty.     

Association of Multiple Plasma Biomarker Concentrations with Progression of Prevalent Diabetic Kidney Disease: Findings from the Chronic Renal Insufficiency Cohort (CRIC) Study

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伴皮层下梗死和白质脑病的常染色体显性遗传性脑动脉病一例报告

目的 总结貌似多发性硬化的皮层下梗死和白质脑病的常染色体显性遗传性脑动脉病(CADASIL)的临床特点.方法 报告1例经基因检查和周围神经活检确诊为CADASIL的临床资料.结果 患者腓肠神经活检可见有髓神经纤维密度轻度减少,电镜下可见神经束膜小动脉中层平滑肌细胞外大量颗粒性电子致密嗜锇颗粒物质(GOM)沉积.基因检测显示Notch3基因4号外显子Cys117Arg突变.结论 为避免CADASIL的漏诊及误诊,凡遇青年反复脑卒中发作,又无高血压、糖尿病等常见的血管病危险因素,虽无偏头痛病史,亦应注意追问家族史并做基因检测和周围神经活检.     

Acceptance of evidence based medicine (EBM) databases by Iranian medical residents using unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT)

Objective

Physicians often need uptodate, reliable and with easy access information for clinical decisions evidence based medicine (EBM) databases can be a suitable approach to meet this need. The aim of this study was to assess the knowledge, use and factors affecting the acceptance of EBM and its databases by Iranian medical residents using UTAUT model.

Enablers and inhibitors: A review of the situation regarding mHealth adoption in low- and middle-income countries

Objective

The objective of this review is to identify enabling and inhibiting factors for mHealth adoption in low resource settings, by giving emphasis on the stakeholders representing the caregiving side. Another objective of this study is to support implementation agencies (governmental and non-governmental) in designing scalable mHealth interventions.

EMRS Adoption: Exploring the effects of information security management awareness and perceived service quality

Objectives

This study proposes a research model that combines information system (IS) continuance theory with the DeLone and McLean IS success model to more clearly comprehend the influences of system characteristics on electronic health record system (EMRS) adoption. As Information security management (ISM) awareness enables health workers to be better able to prevent security violations, this study further explores the effects of perceived service quality on the relationship between ISM awareness and system characteristics of EMRS.