Current medical research and opinion
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study Comparative Study
Etoricoxib in the treatment of primary dysmenorrhea in Chinese patients: a randomized controlled trial.
Assess the efficacy and safety of etoricoxib 120 mg compared with ibuprofen 600 mg qid in the treatment of moderate to severe primary dysmenorrhea in Chinese women. ⋯ The primary objective of the study was met, demonstrating that etoricoxib 120 mg qd was non-inferior to ibuprofen 600 mg qid; further, etoricoxib was statistically superior to ibuprofen 600 mg qid according to the primary endpoint (TOPAR6) and patient global assessments of study medication. Etoricoxib and ibuprofen were generally well tolerated.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study Comparative Study
Efficacy of a triple antiemetic regimen with aprepitant for the prevention of chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting: effects of gender, age, and region.
To determine the variability in treatment responses to antiemetic therapy (ondansetron and dexamethasone vs ondansetron and dexamethasone plus aprepitant) given with moderately emetogenic chemotherapy. ⋯ Although we acknowledge that subset numbers in this post hoc analysis may be too small to allow definitive conclusions, the data suggest that aprepitant triple therapy provides a benefit over control therapy for the prevention of CINV in patients receiving anthracycline and cyclophosphamide (AC)- or non-AC-based moderately emetogenic chemotherapy across age, gender, and region. (Original trial results available at ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT00337727.).
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Review Meta Analysis
The effect of a dual combination of noninsulin antidiabetic drugs on lipids: a systematic review and network meta-analysis.
As an ever widening array of anti-hyperglycemic agents are now available, the effect of these drugs on lipids is increasingly complex and controversial. The present meta-analysis was designed to clarify the effect of a dual combination of noninsulin anti-hyperglycemic agents on lipids in type 2 diabetes. ⋯ The effect of a dual combination of noninsulin anti-hyperglycemic agents on lipids is moderate to small, with metformin + DPP-4 inhibitor and metformin + GLP-1 agonist showing consistent beneficial effects on LDL cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, triglycerides and total cholesterol. Future trials are needed to confirm these findings.
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Twenty years ago, the main barriers to successful cancer pain management were poor assessment by physicians, and patients' reluctance to report pain and take opioids. Those barriers are almost exactly the same today. Cancer pain remains under-treated; in Europe, almost three-quarters of cancer patients experience pain, and almost a quarter of those with moderate to severe pain do not receive any analgesic medication. ⋯ The choice of analgesic agent and its route of administration are considered, along with various interventional procedures and the requirements of palliative care. Special attention is paid to the treatment of breakthrough pain (particularly with fast-acting fentanyl formulations, which have pharmacokinetic profiles that closely match those of breakthrough pain episodes) and chemotherapy-induced neuropathic pain, which affects around one third of patients who receive chemotherapy. Finally, the point is made that medical education should place a greater emphasis on pain therapy, both at undergraduate and postgraduate level.
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Guidelines for preventing and treating patients with coronary artery disease have traditionally focused on reducing low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C). Current treatments are effective; however, previous studies have identified a significant proportion of patients that are not achieving the recommended lipid levels. New guidelines were introduced November 2013. The objective of this study was to examine recent practice patterns and factors related to initiating treatment for hypercholesterolemia, which provides a comparative baseline to the introduction of new guidelines. ⋯ Newly treated patients with elevated LDL-C results generally achieved the recommended and risk-specific LDL-C goal with the use of lipid-altering drugs; however, there still exists a notable population of patients with CHD or CHD risk equivalents who were not treated to goal and a significant number of patients who do not receive lipid-lowering pharmacotherapy. New therapies and prescribing practices are warranted to adequately address these two patient populations.