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Multidisciplinary
Top Medical News
Patients who received direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) following transcatheter mitral valve replacement (TMVR) seem to have a lower risk of bleeding complications and shorter length of hospital stay, with no significant increase in the risk of thrombotic events, than those treated with vitamin K antagonists (VKAs), a study has shown.
Multiple factors contribute to the low uptake of evidence-based medical therapy (EBMT) in the management of peripheral artery disease (PAD), reports a Singapore study.
Maintaining good cardiovascular health (CVH) can help avert incident adult-onset asthma (AOA) regardless of a person’s asthma genetic risks, according to a study.
In critically ill patients who have been on invasive mechanical ventilation (IMV) for at least 3 days, a subsequent 3-day course of preventive inhaled amikacin reduced the burden of ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) during 28 days of follow-up, findings from the AMIKINHAL trial have shown.
Treatment with the combination of xanomeline plus trospium leads to favourable reduction in positive and negative symptoms in patients with schizophrenia, while being well tolerated, according to data from the phase III EMERGENT-2 trial.
Dietary nitrate supplementation for patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) appears to lead to better exercise capacity, according to a study.
The tricyclic antidepressant amitriptyline, when used at low dose in the second-line treatment setting and titrated according to symptom response and side-effects, is safe and provides relief from symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), as shown in the phase III ATLANTIS* trial.
Special Reports
At the 27th Congress of the Asian Pacific Society of Respirology (APSR) 2023, a Pfizer-sponsored symposium addressed the evolving challenges of COVID-19, particularly for patients with pre-existing respiratory conditions. Chaired by Dr Chan Kwok Wai Adrian, a renowned respiratory physician and intensivist from Mount Elizabeth Novena Hospital, Singapore, and featuring insights from Professor Yang Kuang-Yao of National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Taipei, Taiwan, the symposium focused on the disease’s impact, treatment guidelines, regional management strategies, and the role of nirmatrelvir/ritonavir, a new oral combination pill, in the treatment of COVID-19.
Unmet needs remain in acute and preventive management of migraine despite availability of multiple treatment options in East Asia. At the 2023 International Headache Congress in Seoul, South Korea, Professor Peter Goadsby of King’s College London in London, UK, and Professor Min-Kyung Chu of Severance Hospital, Yonsei University in Seoul, South Korea, reviewed the role of calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP)–targeted therapies in migraine management, highlighting the efficacy and safety of the oral CGRP receptor antagonist (RA), rimegepant, in both acute treatment and prevention of migraine.
Early detection of chronic kidney disease (CKD) enables early optimization of organ-protective treatment to help avert the substantial healthcare burden associated with the condition. At an industry-sponsored symposium organized by the Asian Pacific Society of Nephrology (APSN), Professor See-Cheng Yeo of Tan Tock Seng Hospital, Singapore, and Professor Meg Jardine of the University of Sydney, Australia, discussed evidence supporting earlier and broader use of sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitors (eg, empagliflozin) in CKD, highlighting guideline recommendations for SGLT2 inhibitors as first-line (1L) therapy in diabetic kidney disease (DKD) patients with estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) ≥20 mL/min/1.73 m2.
Growing evidence supports early initiation of guidelinedirected medical therapy (GDMT), including sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitors, in patients with heart failure (HF). At a Boehringer Ingelheim–sponsored symposium in Hong Kong, Professor Piotr Ponikowski of the Medical University, Wrocław, Poland, discussed how this approach may improve patients’ prognosis, highlighting randomized controlled trial (RCT) evidence supporting in-hospital initiation of empagliflozin in acute HF and sharing a case study to illustrate practical aspects of this approach.
At the United European Gastroenterology Week (UEGW) 2023 held in Copenhagen, Denmark, researchers presented latest findings on tofacitinib in ulcerative colitis (UC). Topics covered included identification of factors associated with tofacitinib treatment response and maintenance of response, histological outcomes following treatment, and long-term safety data from the global tofacitinib UC clinical programme.
Eosinophilic disorders, such as eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis (EGPA) and hypereosinophilic syndrome (HES), often necessitate the use of corticosteroids due to diverse signs and symptoms. However, long-term corticosteroid use is associated with various complications. Patients with poor response to corticosteroids may experience disease recurrence. At an industry-sponsored symposium jointly organized by the Hong Kong Society of Rheumatology and the Hong Kong Thoracic Society, experts shared insights on multidisciplinary team management of eosinophilic disorders and discussed clinical evidence supporting the use of add-on medications, such as mepolizumab, in EGPA and HES.
Budesonide 160 mcg, glycopyrronium 7.2 mcg, formoterol fumarate dihydrate 5 mcg inhalation suspension
Conference Reports
Adding sotorasib to panitumumab significantly improves progression-free survival (PFS) in patients with chemorefractory KRAS G12C-mutated metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) compared with investigator’s choice of standard of care treatment, according to the CodeBreaK 300 trial presented at ESMO Asia 2023.
Sacituzumab govitecan improved progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) in Asian patients with HR+/HER2– metastatic breast cancer (mBC) compared with the treatment of physician’s choice (TPC*), according to the EVER-132-002 study presented at ESMO Asia 2023.
Breast cancer survivors who are at least 50 years of age appear to do well with less frequent mammographic surveillance, with survival outcomes being no worse than with annual mammograms, according to data from the phase III Mammo-50 trial.
For postmenopausal women with genomically defined low-risk stage I breast cancer who have been initiated on endocrine therapy immediately after breast-conserving surgery, the risk of recurrence is low despite the omission of radiation therapy, as shown in the IDEA* trial.
The addition of carfilzomib to lenalidomide and dexamethasone (KRd) improved outcomes in individuals with newly diagnosed fit or intermediate-fit multiple myeloma who are transplant ineligible (NTE NDMM) as opposed to Rd only in the phase III EMN20 trial.
The addition of capivasertib (C) to fulvestrant (F) results in better health-related quality of life (HRQoL), except for diarrhoea, in patients with aromatase inhibitor-resistant HR-positive/HER2-negative advanced breast cancer when compared to placebo plus F, according to the phase III CAPItello-291 study presented at SABCS 2023.
Body mass index (BMI) has some bearing on the efficacy of different adjuvant chemotherapy schedules in patients with early breast cancer, suggest the results of the GIM2 study, which were presented at the recent SABCS 2023. Additionally, dose-dense (DD) chemotherapy appears to be the better treatment strategy regardless of a patient’s BMI.
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