Advances in therapy
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Advances in therapy · Mar 2014
Impact of dronedarone treatment on healthcare resource utilization in patients with atrial fibrillation/flutter.
The ATHENA (A Placebo-Controlled, Double-Blind, Parallel Arm Trial to Assess the Efficacy of Dronedarone 400 mg bid for the Prevention of Cardiovascular Hospitalization or Death from Any Cause in Patients with Atrial Fibrillation/Atrial Flutter) trial demonstrated a significant reduction (26%) in the rate of first cardiovascular (CV) hospitalization in dronedarone-treated patients with paroxysmal or persistent atrial fibrillation/flutter (AF/AFL). ATHENA was the first trial to demonstrate a CV outcomes benefit, specifically reduced CV hospitalizations, with an antiarrhythmic drug. The objective of this study was to assess the impact of dronedarone treatment on healthcare resource utilization among real-world patients with AF/AFL in United States clinical practice. ⋯ This study suggests that dronedarone use in real-world practice, as in the ATHENA trial, results in substantial reductions in hospital admissions, both in first-line and second-line antiarrhythmic treatment settings.
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Advances in therapy · Feb 2014
ReviewOpioid-induced endocrinopathy in cancer patients: an underestimated clinical problem.
The impact of both endogenous and exogenous opioids on the endocrine system has been known for many years. With the increased use of opioids in chronic pain treatment, the research focuses mainly on their effects on the endocrine system in patients with chronic non-malignant pain. Despite the wide dissemination of cancer, there has been little research on the possible effects of opioids on the endocrine system in cancer patients. ⋯ This article presents the available research on the effects of opioids on the endocrine system and the clinical consequences resulting from opioid use in cancer patients. Clinicians who use opioids in clinical practice should be aware of the existence of the endocrine symptoms of opioid therapy. There is still a need for more research in this area to maintain the best possible quality of life for cancer patients treated with opioid analgesics.
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Advances in therapy · Feb 2014
Incremental burden of disease in patients diagnosed with pulmonary arterial hypertension receiving monotherapy and combination vasodilator therapy.
Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a rare, severely debilitating disease with high mortality. There are limited data available on treatment patterns and burden of disease from conditions of actual care. ⋯ Combination treatment and particularly the use of prostacyclins remain underused in an unselected population of PAH patients surveyed under conditions of actual care. The disease burden is substantial and increases with greater severity of disease and more aggressive treatments. This necessitates improvement in optimizing current therapy, as well as novel and innovative combination options.
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Advances in therapy · Feb 2014
Enzalutamide after docetaxel and abiraterone therapy in metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer.
Enzalutamide is a novel antiandrogen which is approved for the treatment of metastatic, castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) after taxane-based chemotherapy. The efficacy of enzalutamide after the sequence docetaxel and abiraterone is not proven. ⋯ Although the results are limited by a small patient number, the consecutive use of enzalutamide and abiraterone after taxane-based chemotherapy shows a modest clinical activity. Thus, sequence therapy alternating between chemotherapy and antihormonal drugs might be a more promising approach in mCRPC treatment.
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Advances in therapy · Jan 2014
ReviewPharmacoeconomic outcomes for pregabalin: a systematic review in neuropathic pain, generalized anxiety disorder, and epilepsy from a Spanish perspective.
Pregabalin is an anticonvulsant approved in Europe for the treatment of neuropathic pain, as an adjunct therapy for epileptic seizures, and recently for generalized anxiety disorder. The aim of this study was to conduct a systematic review to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of pregabalin associated with the treatment of its labeled indications from a societal perspective in Spain. ⋯ The majority of published evidence supports the possibility that pregabalin could be a cost-effective and/or cost-saving alternative for the treatment of refractory epilepsy, GAD, and neuropathic pain, in both treatment-naïve patients and in those who have demonstrated inadequate response or intolerance to previous therapy.