Figure 1. Flowchart of patient identification and selection. The following patients were excluded: (1) patients who had repeatedly received general anesthesia or primarily intravenous anesthetics because they could not be appropriately evaluated in terms of the effects of desflurane and patients who were older insurance beneficiaries with a disability (age, 65-75 years) because they might not be fairly evaluated; (2) patients who underwent multiple procedures during the same operation because they could have significant effects other than those of general anesthesia; and (3) patients with incomplete data.
