Background:A sensation of vibration is experienced during audible ‘OM’ chanting. This has the potential for vagus nerve stimulation through its auricular branches and the effects on the brain thereof. The neurohemodynamic correlates of ‘OM’ chanting are yet to be explored.Materials and Methods:Using functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI), the neurohemodynamic correlates of audible ‘OM’ chanting were examined in right-handed healthy volunteers (n=12; nine men). The ‘OM’ chanting condition was compared with pronunciation of “ssss” as well as a rest state. fMRI analysis was done using Statistical Parametric Mapping 5 (SPM5).Results:In this study, significant deactivation was observed bilaterally during ‘OM’ chanting in comparison to the resting brain state in bilateral orbitofrontal, anterior cingulate, parahippocampal gyri, thalami and hippocampi. The right amygdala too demonstrated significant deactivation. No significant activation was observed during ‘OM’ chanting. In contrast, neither activation nor deactivation occurred in these brain regions during the comparative task – namely the ‘ssss’ pronunciation condition.Conclusion:The neurohemodynamic correlates of ‘OM’ chanting indicate limbic deactivation. As similar observations have been recorded with vagus nerve stimulation treatment used in depression and epilepsy, the study findings argue for a potential role of this ‘OM’ chanting in clinical practice.

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BackgroundAntibiotic-resistant infections are one of the greatest public health issues with more than 2 million infections and 23,000 deaths per year in the United States. Reducing inappropriate antibiotic use is essential to reduce both antibiotic resistance and adverse events. The most important modifiable risk factor for antibiotic resistance is inappropriate prescribing of antibiotics. At least 30% of outpatient antibiotic prescriptions in the United States are unnecessary. We aimed to pilot our outpatient antimicrobial stewardship initiative to track and reduce antibiotic prescriptions among adult patients presenting with common acute respiratory infections in our hospital’s outpatient primary care settings.MethodsA retrospective and prospective cohort study from October, 2017 to March, 2019. Implemented a robust outpatient antimicrobial stewardship initiative with a dedicated team and data analyst based on CDC core elements for outpatient antimicrobial stewardship and a prior UHF initiative. Data of common respiratory tract infections and the respective rates of antibiotic prescriptions from 3 adult primary care sites were collected from the EHR. Serials of educational interventions were performed between June, 2018 to September, 2018. We disseminated resources from the CDC and DOH like brochures, posters, viral prescription pads, pocket guidelines, grand rounds and electronic lectures for providers and periodic provider feedback reports.ResultsOur findings revealed that the physician compliance rate of antibiotics not prescribed for common respiratory tract infections remarkably improved from 72% to 85% after implementing our interventions (Figure 1). The chi-square test showed 40, and P value is 0.000034 which is less than 0.05. Thus, we are 95% confident that there is a significant association between our interventions and reduction of inappropriate antibiotic use (Figure 2).ConclusionIntroduction of a robust and multifaceted Outpatient Antimicrobial Stewardship initiative with a dedicated team can substantially decrease outpatient antibiotic prescription rates for respiratory tract infections in metropolitan community hospital-based primary care settings. Disclosures All authors: No reported disclosures.