Clinical drug investigation
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Review
Can mRNA Vaccines Turn the Tables During the COVID-19 Pandemic? Current Status and Challenges.
The COVID-19 pandemic continues to affect millions of people across the world. The current global statistics for the disease are 111 million cases and 2.45 million deaths, with new cases emerging each day. Although several drugs including remdesivir have been approved for emergency use, they remain ineffective in bringing the infection under control. ⋯ Moreover, Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna Therapeutics have announced that their vaccines are effective even against the new strains (B.1.17 and B.1.351) of the virus. Both companies are now scaling up the production of the vaccines to meet the global demand. Although the long-term efficacy, safety, and immunogenicity of these vaccines is uncertain, there is hope that they can turn the tables against COVID-19 in this current pandemic situation.
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Cefiderocol (Fetroja®) is a siderophore cephalosporin and has demonstrated potent activity against extended-spectrum beta-lactamases producing Enterobacteriaceae, carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae, and nonfermenting Gram-negative bacilli, including Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Stenotrophomonas maltophilia, and Acinetobacter baumannii, Burkholderia cepacia, and Klebsiella pneumoniae. However, cefiderocol has limited activity against Gram-positive bacteria and anaerobes like Bacterodies fragilis. In the APEKS-cUTI study, 183 (73%) of 252 patients in the cefiderocol group versus 65 (55%) of 119 patients in the imipenem-cilastatin group achieved the composite outcome of clinical and microbiological eradication of Gram-negative bacteria (treatment difference of 18.58%; 95% CI 8.23-28.92, p = 0.0004) in complicated urinary tract infections (cUTIs). ⋯ The most common adverse events with cefiderocol were gastrointestinal symptoms such as diarrhea, constipation, nausea, vomiting, or upper abdominal pain. Two phase III clinical trials, the CREDIBLE-CR study and the APEKS-NP study, investigated the efficacy and safety of cefiderocol for the treatment of pneumonia or cUTI, and both studies showed higher all-cause mortality associated with cefiderocol. Therefore, the use of cefiderocol should be limited only to the treatment of cUTIs from Gram-negative bacteria, especially in patients who have limited or no alternative treatment options.
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Since December 2019, a novel coronavirus pneumonia (COVID-19) has broken out in Wuhan, China and spread rapidly. Recent studies have found that ⁓ 15.7% of patients develop severe pneumonia, and cytokine storm is an important factor leading to rapid disease progression. ⋯ Tocilizumab, which is the IL-6 receptor antagonist, has been approved by the US FDA for the treatment of cytokine release syndrome (CRS), is expected to treat cytokine storm caused by COVID-19 and is now in clinical trials. In this paper, we will elaborate the role of cytokine storm in COVID-19, the mechanism of tocilizumab on cytokine storm and the key points of pharmaceutical care based on the actual clinical application for COVID-19 in our hospital, the latest research reports, clinical trial progress of tocilizumab, drug instruction from the US FDA, and "Diagnosis and Treatment Plan of Novel Coronavirus Pneumonia (seventh trial edition)" in China, so as to provide reference for the treatment of COVID-19.
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The use of targeted therapies, when added to conventional chemotherapy, has significantly improved clinical outcomes and survival of cancer patients. While targeted therapies do not have the systemic adverse reactions of chemotherapy, they are associated with toxicities that can be severe and impair patient quality of life and adherence to anti-cancer treatment. Panitumumab and cetuximab, two monoclonal antibodies against epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), are recommended for the treatment of metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC). ⋯ Here, we review the current knowledge of anti-EGFR therapy-related skin toxicities and the latest recommendations for their management. We also present a treatment approach for papulopustular rash based on the combination of fusidic acid plus betamethasone in a lipid-enriched topical formulation. The effectiveness of this approach is documented by the presentation of five cases successfully treated in clinical practice for anti-EGFR therapy-related rash.
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Meta Analysis Comparative Study
Sodium-Glucose Co-Transporter 2 Inhibitors Compared with Sulfonylureas in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Inadequately Controlled on Metformin: A Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.
When metformin is insufficient for patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), the optimal adjunctive therapy is unclear. This meta-analysis was to compare the efficacy and safety of sodium-glucose co-transporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitors with sulfonylureas (SUs) as second-line therapy in patients with T2DM inadequately controlled on metformin. ⋯ Despite similar glycemic efficacy in a relatively short term, SGLT2 inhibitors are more effective in the longer term than SUs as add-on to metformin. In addition, SGLT2 inhibitors produce less hypoglycemic events and lead to greater reductions in weight and blood pressure compared with SUs.