Current medical research and opinion
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study
Diclofenac plus B vitamins versus diclofenac monotherapy in lumbago: the DOLOR study.
To assess the influence of vitamins B1, B6 and B12 on the analgesia success achieved by diclofenac in subjects with acute lumbago. ⋯ The combination of diclofenac with B vitamins was superior to diclofenac monotherapy in lumbago relief after 3 days of treatment. As a study drawback, daily VAS measurements were only recorded until subject withdrawal from treatment, whether after 3, 5, or 7 days. There were no differences in safety profile between the two study groups.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study
Efficacy and safety of the dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitor alogliptin added to pioglitazone in patients with type 2 diabetes: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study.
To evaluate the efficacy and safety of alogliptin in patients with type 2 diabetes inadequately controlled by therapy with a thiazolidinedione (TZD). ⋯ NCT00286494, clinicaltrials.gov.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study
Tadalafil therapy and health-related quality of life in pulmonary arterial hypertension.
Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a rare, progressive lung disorder that impairs performance of daily activities and quality of life (QoL), leading to right heart failure and death. Treatment options include prostanoids, endothelin antagonists, and phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibitors (e.g., tadalafil). Currently there is no cure for PAH, but tadalafil has improved exercise capacity in these patients. ⋯ Results suggest that tadalafil 40 mg may significantly improve HRQoL and exercise capacity for PAH patients. Limitations of this study include its relatively short nature limited to 16 weeks and the relative heterogeneity of the study population.
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Multicenter Study
Retrospective cost analysis of management of febrile neutropenia in cancer patients in Spain.
Febrile neutropenia (FN) is associated with disruption of planned chemotherapy and increased management costs. However, the economic impact of FN in Spanish clinical practice has not been documented hitherto. ⋯ FN substantially affects healthcare resource use and costs in breast cancer, lung cancer and, NHL. In this study, hospitalization and antibiotics were the main drivers of cost. A limitation of the analysis was that it did not include the indirect costs associated with FN episodes.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study
Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of every-3-week darbepoetin alfa 300 micrograms for treatment of chemotherapy-induced anemia.
Darbepoetin alfa is effective in treating chemotherapy-induced anemia (CIA). Administration of subcutaneous darbepoetin alfa every 3 weeks (Q3W) could simplify treatment through synchronization with common Q3W chemotherapy regimens. We report results from a multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, phase 3 trial evaluating the efficacy and safety of fixed-dose Q3W darbepoetin alfa in patients with a wide variety of tumor types who experienced CIA. ⋯ In this study, fixed-dose Q3W darbepoetin alfa appeared to be well-tolerated and effective for the treatment of CIA.