Frontiers in Gastroenterology

2002 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. 241-249
Author(s):  
Joseph Reilly ◽  
Edmund J. Bini

There have been a number of exciting advancements and changes in the gastroenterology field over the last few years. A new mesalamine formulation, balsalazide disodium, is now available for the treatment of ulcerative colitis (UC). Balsalazide may be utilized as first line therapy for patients with UC, or patients who are intolerant to other mesalamine preparations. In the area of irritable bowel syndrome, alosetron was removed from the market after reports that it was associated with severe constipation and death, although a causal relationship could not be established. Published data examines the risk of certain medications and the development of reflux disease and esophageal adenocarcinoma. Also, new proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) are available, esomeprazole, as well as alternate methods of administration for others. The first intravenous PPI, pantoprazole, is available in the United States, although currently there is a paucity of data regarding its efficacy. Peptic ulcer disease is also discussed, including Helicobacter pylori resistance, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, and the treatment of bleeding ulcers. With pegylated interferon, progress in the treatment of hepatitis C offers promise for many patients. This review will highlight many recent changes in gastroenterology an offer a perspective on how disease management has changed.

2020 ◽  
pp. 019459982094701
Author(s):  
John D. Cramer ◽  
Michael L. Barnett ◽  
Samantha Anne ◽  
Brian T. Bateman ◽  
Richard M. Rosenfeld ◽  
...  

Objective To offer pragmatic, evidence-informed advice on nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) as first-line therapy after surgery. This companion to the American Academy of Otolaryngology–Head & Neck Surgery (AAO-HNS) clinical practice guideline (CPG), “Opioid Prescribing for Analgesia After Common Otolaryngology Operations,” presents data on potency, bleeding risk, and adverse effects for ibuprofen, naproxen, ketorolac, meloxicam, and celecoxib. Data Sources National Guidelines Clearinghouse, CMA Infobase, National Library of Guidelines, NICE, SIGN, New Zealand Guidelines Group, Australian National Health and Medical, Research Council, TRIP database, PubMed, Guidelines International Network, Cochrane Library, EMBASE, CINAHL, BIOSIS Previews, ISI Web of Science, AHRQ, and HSTAT. Review Methods AAO-HNS opioid CPG literature search strategy, supplemented by PubMed/MEDLINE searches on NSAIDs, emphasizing systematic reviews and randomized controlled trials. Conclusion NSAIDs provide highly effective analgesia for postoperative pain, particularly when combined with acetaminophen. Inconsistent use of nonopioid regimens arises from common misconceptions that NSAIDs are less potent analgesics than opioids and have an unacceptable risk of bleeding. To the contrary, multimodal analgesia (combining 500 mg acetaminophen and 200 mg ibuprofen) is significantly more effective analgesia than opioid regimens (15 mg oxycodone with acetaminophen). Furthermore, selective cyclooxygenase-2 inhibition reliably circumvents antiplatelet effects. Implications for Practice The combination of NSAIDs and acetaminophen provides more effective postoperative pain control with greater safety than opioid-based regimens. The AAO-HNS opioid prescribing CPG therefore prioritizes multimodal, nonopioid analgesia as first-line therapy, recommending that opioids be reserved for severe or refractory pain. This state-of-the-art review provides strategies for safely incorporating NSAIDs into acute postoperative pain regimens.


1988 ◽  
Vol 6 (12) ◽  
pp. 1811-1814 ◽  
Author(s):  
G W Sledge ◽  
P J Loehrer ◽  
B J Roth ◽  
L H Einhorn

Cisplatin has had only minimal activity when used as second- and third-line chemotherapy for metastatic breast cancer (MBC). There have been no phase II studies in the United States evaluating cisplatin in patients with MBC with no prior chemotherapy. We therefore treated 20 consecutive patients with cisplatin 30 mg/m2/d for four days every 3 weeks for a maximum of six courses. We obtained partial responses in nine of 19 evaluable patients (47%), with responses in liver, lung, and soft tissue indicator lesions. Our data suggest that cisplatin has substantial single-agent activity as front-line therapy in MBC, and should be considered for inclusion in first-line combination chemotherapy regimens.


Blood ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 135 (24) ◽  
pp. 2133-2136 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher R. Flowers ◽  
John P. Leonard ◽  
Nathan H. Fowler

Abstract Lenalidomide is an immunomodulatory drug approved in the United States for use with rituximab in patients with relapsed/refractory follicular lymphoma. We reviewed data from trials addressing the safety and efficacy of lenalidomide alone and in combination with rituximab as a first-line therapy and as a treatment of patients with relapsed/refractory follicular lymphoma. Lenalidomide-rituximab has been demonstrated to be an effective chemotherapy-free therapy that improves upon single-agent rituximab and may become an alternative to chemoimmunotherapy.


Blood ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 128 (22) ◽  
pp. 4787-4787 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brandon Arnieri ◽  
Coen Bernaards ◽  
Kenneth Wilhelm ◽  
James Black ◽  
Ceri Hirst ◽  
...  

Abstract Introduction: Approximately 18,960 new cases of CLL and 4,660 deaths from CLL are estimated in the US in 2016, with an overall estimated 5-year survival rate of 82%. Despite this, CLL patients with unfavorable genetic features such as 17p deletion have relatively poor outcomes when treated with conventional chemoimmunotherapy (e.g. fludarabine and cyclophosphamide, or bendamustine plus rituximab); however, several new treatments have been approved by the FDA for the treatment of previously untreated CLL in the past 3 years, including obinutuzumab with chlorambucil and ibrutinib. The aim of this analysis was to assess demographics and treatment patterns in patients with previously untreated CLL since the introduction of new treatment options using a novel oncology electronic health record (EHR) database. Methods: A cohort of CLL patients was selected by identifying patients within Flatiron's real-world oncology database. The Flatiron provider network comprises 230 clinics, 2,000 clinicians, and more than 1 million cancer patients throughout the United States (US). Patients included in the cohort were required to meet the following criteria: ≥2 clinic encounters on different days occurring on or after January 1, 2011; ≥1 medication order for an antineoplastic occurring on or after January 1, 2013; physician documentation of CLL; and, evidence in unstructured documents (ie, information not organized in a pre-existing data model, such as free text from a physician note/lab report) of having been treated specifically for CLL. The latter two criteria were assessed based on technology-enabled abstraction of unstructured data (e.g., pathology reports, clinician notes). Patients who lacked unstructured documents, absence of evidence of first-line treatment, or received CLL treatment at a practice outside of the Flatiron network were excluded. The cohort included patients of all ages treated between 2011 and 2015 from all 50 states of the US. The index date was defined as the date of the patient's CLL treatment initiation. Start of first-line therapy after January 1, 2011, was defined as the first episode of an eligible therapy given after or up to 14 days before the date of the patient's CLL treatment initiation. Line of therapy was the first eligible drug episode plus other eligible drugs given within 28 days. Therapies eligible for inclusion in lines of therapy were systemic treatment, as evidenced by an order or administration of an antineoplastic agent recorded in the EHR; radiotherapy and surgery were not included. For patients with documented transformation of CLL, the abstracted date of transformation ended any active line of therapy, and the patient was not considered eligible for any subsequent CLL lines of therapy. Any treatment that occurred after the date of transformation was not included as a CLL line of therapy (steroids were not included in the definition of CLL lines of therapy). Results: As of June 2016, the cohort consisted of 766 eligible CLL patients with a median age of 71 years, and 64% were male (Table 1). While distribution of first-line therapies initiated in 2011 to 2013 remained relatively constant by year, changes were observed during 2014 and 2015 following the introduction of obinutuzumab and ibrutinib (Figure 1); obinutuzumab monotherapy as first-line therapy increased from 8.2% in 2014 to 14.5% in 2015, and ibrutinib monotherapy or ibrutinib + rituximab increased from 10.5% in 2014 to 13.6% in 2015. Of note, fludarabine containing regimens declined from 19.8% in 2012 to 8.8% in 2015. Decreases were also observed with rituximab monotherapy from 21.0% to 16.2%, bendamustine + rituximab (BR) from 36.1% to 31.6%, and rituximab + fludarabine + cyclophosphamide (RFC) from 11.0% to 8.8%. Factors associated with chlorambucil treatment (as monotherapy or in combination) vs. chemoimmunotherapy included older age (75.9 years vs. 68.7 years and 62.6 years for BR and RFC, respectively) and Rai stage (78.1% of patients treated with chlorambucil had Rai stage 0-I disease vs. 70.1% and 71.7% treated with BR and RFC, respectively). A fifth of patients with 17p deletion were treated with ibrutinib. Updated data inclusive of 2016 treatments will be presented. Conclusion: Using a novel EHR database, the marked change in CLL treatments from 2011 to 2015 shows increased utilization of newer agents. Further follow-up and analysis will contrast treatment patterns beyond RCT data in a real-world setting. Disclosures Arnieri: F. Hoffmann La-Roche Ltd: Employment. Bernaards:F. Hoffmann La-Roche Ltd: Employment. Wilhelm:Roche: Equity Ownership; Genentech: Employment. Black:F. Hoffmann La-Roche Ltd: Employment. Hirst:F. Hoffmann La-Roche Ltd: Employment; AstraZeneca: Other: Previous employment . Taylor:F. Hoffmann La-Roche Ltd: Employment. Lambert:F. Hoffmann La-Roche Ltd: Employment. Green:F. Hoffmann La-Roche Ltd: Employment. Lu:F. Hoffmann La-Roche Ltd: Employment. Humphrey:Genentech, Inc.: Employment.


2020 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
pp. 2333794X2096928
Author(s):  
Alisha K. Bajwa ◽  
Chokechai Rongkavilit

Coccidioidomycosis is a fungal infection that is prevalent in western United States, Central America, and South America. The infection is acquired by inhalation. It can affect persons of all ages including infants and children. The majority of cases are asymptomatic and the incidence of infection is greater during a dry summer season after heavy rainfall in prior winter. For those with symptoms, they may experience a self-limiting influenza-like illness. However, some may progress toward pneumonia or disseminated diseases involving skeletal system and central nervous system. The diagnosis is based mainly on various serology testing. Antifungal treatment is generally not required for those with mild symptoms. For those with moderate to severe infections, the mainstay of treatment is azole, with fluconazole being often considered as the first line therapy. Currently there is no effective solution to prevent coccidioidomycosis. Those who work in high-risk conditions should be given appropriate protective equipment as well as education on proper precaution.


2020 ◽  
Vol 38 (15_suppl) ◽  
pp. 3080-3080
Author(s):  
James Clark ◽  
Biagio Ricciuti ◽  
Anita Bolina ◽  
Deepti Venkatraman ◽  
Thomas Newsom-Davis ◽  
...  

3080 Background: ATB exposure is proven to worsen response and survival in immunotherapy recipients. However, its influence on outcomes from CIT is currently undefined. Methods: We conducted a retrospective, multi-centre observational study including 77 mNSCLC patients who received pembrolizumab, pemetrexed and carboplatin CIT as first-line therapy for mNSCLC, between December 1, 2018 and January 1, 2020 in 3 academic referral centres in Europe and in the United States. We documented ATB exposure in the 30 days prior to CIT commencement (pATB) or concurrently (cATB) until CIT cessation. Outcome measures included overall (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) calculated from commencement of CIT, and overall response rates (ORR) defined by Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (v1.1). Results: We enrolled 77 patients, 41 of whom were female (n = 53%) with adenocarcinoma (n = 73, 95%), performance status (PS) 0-1 (n = 69, 90%) PD-L1 Tumour Proportion Score < 50 (n = 57, 74%). Median OS was 16.4 months (95%CI 8.4-24.4), median PFS was 6.7 months (95%CI 5.7-7.6). ORR was 48% including 1 complete (1%) and 36 partial responses (47%). Eleven patients (14%) received pATB, with penicillin/cephalosporins (p/c, n = 7, 63%) for <7 days (n = 10, 90%). Thirty-five patients (45%) received cATB with p/c (n = 11, 40%) for <7 days (n = 28, 80%). Most common indication for ATB was peri-procedure prophylaxis in pATB (n = 7, 63%) and suspected febrile neutropenia in cATB (n = 14, 40%). pATB (p = 0.004) but not cATB (p = 0.85) predicted for worse OS (19.6 vs 6.5 months, Hazard Ratio [HR] 2.9 95%CI 1.3-6.3). Neither pATB nor cATB predicted for PFS or ORR (p > 0.05). Multivariable analyses confirmed pATB (HR 2.3 95%CI 1.1-5.5, p = 0.05) to predict for OS independent of PD-L1 status, PS and cATB. pATB+/- groups were balanced with regards to age, gender, PS nor PD-L1 status (p > 0.05). Conclusions: Whilst cATB does not compromise outcome from CIT, this study reproduces the detrimental effects observed for pATB exposure in immunotherapy recipients. Mechanistic verification of the immune-biologic foundations underlying this association is urgently warranted.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document