Current medical research and opinion
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Evaluation of a new safety peripheral IV catheter designed to reduce mucocutaneous blood exposure.
We evaluated performance and clinical acceptability of a new peripheral intravenous catheter (PIVC) designed to reduce blood exposure. ⋯ The PIVC with blood control demonstrated reduced blood leakage during insertion and was rated no different for clinical acceptability and insertion performance compared to the conventional PIVC. Clinicians agreed that the new design replaced the need for venous compression to control blood flow during IV catheter insertion.
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Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is an irreversible and often progressive disease that requires lifelong adherence to complicated drug therapy regimens. The well established Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) guidelines recommend specific drug therapy protocols, yet patient adherence to drug therapy and physician adherence to prescribing guidelines is reported to be suboptimal. In this claims based analysis of COPD patients, drug therapy treatment patterns including inhaled corticosteroids and long acting bronchodilator use were evaluated by COPD severity level. ⋯ This analysis suggests less than optimal compliance with recommended drug therapy treatment for COPD patients based on GOLD guidelines. This study further suggests the utility of claims data analyses for providing reasonable aggregate distributions of COPD severity which allows for health plans and disease management programs to stratify COPD patients by severity level and examine opportunities for improved drug therapy management. Study findings should be considered in the context of the study limitations.
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Depression is common in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) and is associated with higher risk of cardiovascular adverse events. We aimed to explore the prognostic role of mild depression on cardiovascular mortality and compare its prognostic value with C-reactive protein (CRP) levels in patients with stable CAD. ⋯ Mild depression is associated with increased cardiovascular mortality and is a better predictor than CRP levels in patients with stable CAD.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study
Comparative efficacy of nilotinib and dasatinib in newly diagnosed chronic myeloid leukemia: a matching-adjusted indirect comparison of randomized trials.
Nilotinib and dasatinib have not been directly compared in a randomized trial for the treatment of newly diagnosed chronic myeloid leukemia in the chronic phase (CML-CP). The purpose of this study was to indirectly compare rates of major molecular response (MMR), progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival by month 12 with nilotinib and dasatinib treatment of newly diagnosed CML-CP. ⋯ Nilotinib was associated with significantly higher rates of MMR and overall survival compared with dasatinib by month 12 in the treatment of newly diagnosed CML-CP.
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What is the relationship between average daily dose (ADD) of duloxetine, adherence to therapy, and healthcare costs among patients with fibromyalgia? ⋯ Fibromyalgia patients with an ADD of 60 mg of duloxetine had better adherence than patients with an ADD ≤30 mg. Duloxetine patients with an ADD of 30 mg (31-59 or >60 mg) had significantly lower (higher) healthcare costs than those maintaining an ADD of 60 mg.