Cost evolution of biological drugs in rheumatoid arthritis patients in a tertiary hospital: Influential factors on price

ObjectiveTo assess the evolution of cost per patient/year and the cost per patient/year/drug in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) receiving biological treatments. To analyze and quantify the factors influencing this evolution, such as the optimization of the biological drugs, the use of biosimilars, and official discounts and discounts obtained after negotiated procedures. In addition, to assess specific clinical parameters of disease activity in these patients.MethodsRetrospective, observational study conducted in a Spanish tertiary hospital. Adult patients diagnosed with RA under treatment from 2009 to 2017 were included.Results320, 270 and 389 patients were included in 2009, 2013 and 2017, respectively. The patient/year cost decreased from 10,789€ in 2009, 7491€ in 2013 to 7116€ in 2017. In 2017, due to the established competition, discounts of 14% and 29.5% were achieved on etanercept and its biosimilar; 11.5%, 17.8%, 17.9%, 17.3% on adalimumab, certolizumab, golimumab and tocilizumab IV respectively, and 24.6% and 43.1% on infliximab and its biosimilar. The percentage of patients optimized in 2017 was 35.2%. The annual saving in 2017 was 1,288,535€ (830,000€ due to dose optimization and/or administration regimens, 249,666€ corresponding to 7.5% of the official discount and 208,868€ after negotiated procedures).ConclusionThe annual cost per patient in RA decreased considerably due to different factors, such as discounts on the purchase of drugs due to official discounts and negotiated procedures, together with the optimization of therapies, the latter being the factor that contributed most to this decrease.     

他山之石 何以攻玉:从脑出血国际临床研究现状看我国的规范化治疗

自发性脑出血病死率和病残率较高,但缺乏有效的治疗策略。我国的脑出血相关研究与国际先进水平存在一定差距。近年国际上一系列临床研究从不同角度探讨脑出血的治疗方式,对我国脑出血研究和规范化治疗具有十分重要的参考价值。我国的脑出血临床治疗经验和研究成果要想走向世界,必须开展高质量的临床试验。四川大学华西医院神经外科正在开展INTERACT3试验,以及准备开展STICHⅢ试验,希望能够推动中国脑出血研究事业的进步。     

淫羊藿（苷）对男性生殖系统的作用和机制

淫羊藿是一种常用的中药材,淫羊藿苷是从淫羊藿中提取的一种黄酮类化合物,也是淫羊藿中最主要的活性物质。研究发现,淫羊藿苷具有促进成骨细胞的生成和活化、调节免疫、抗衰老和抗炎等多种功能。临床上淫羊藿（苷）用于治疗生殖系统、骨关节系统、呼吸系统、神经系统、心血管系统和免疫系统等多种疾病。淫羊藿（苷）对男性生殖系统的作用及机制主要包括具有雄性激素样作用,促进睾内睾酮的合成和分泌。淫羊藿（苷）通过改善精子发生的微环境、增强睾丸抗氧化作用促进精子生成,增加精子密度,改善精子活力,减缓生殖衰退。此外,淫羊藿（苷）可促进阴茎勃起,治疗勃起功能障碍及早泄。     

The role of orthodontics in management of obstructive sleep apnea

Dental sleep medicine is the field of dental practice that deals with the management of sleep-related breathing disorders, which includes obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) in adults and children. Depending on the developmental age of the patient and the cause of the apnea dental treatment options may vary. For adult patients, treatment modalities may include oral appliance therapy (OAT), orthognathic surgery and surgical or miniscrew supported palatal expansion. While for children, treatment may include non-surgical maxillary expansion and orthodontic functional appliances. Many physicians and dentists are unaware of the role dentistry, particularly orthodontics, may play in the interdisciplinary management of these disorders. This review article is an attempt to compile evidence-based relevant information on the role of orthodontists/sleep dentists in the screening, diagnosis, and management of sleep apnea. Oral sleep appliance mechanisms of action, selective efficacy, and the medical physiological outcomes are discussed. The purpose of this review is to provide a comprehensive understanding of how orthodontists and sleep physicians can work in tandem to maximize the benefits and minimize the side effects while treating patients with OSA.     

Adjuvant chemotherapy could improve the survival of pulmonary sarcomatoid carcinoma: A systematic review and meta-analysis

BackgroundComplete surgical removal is currently considered to be the best treatment option for pulmonary sarcomatoid carcinoma (PSC) especially in early stage operable disease; however, the reported recurrence-free survival is low. Benefits of adjuvant chemotherapy in PSC patients are still controversial, and there is no obvious agreement on the optimal treatment modalities of this disease. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the prognosis in terms of overall survival (OS) in patients with PSC who received adjuvant chemotherapy.MethodsThe review protocol was registered in PROSPERO (CRD42022306084). Patients with PSC who underwent surgical therapy with or without adjuvant chemotherapy were included into the meta-analysis. Hazard ratios (HR) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for OS were pooled and ROBINS-I tool was used to assess risk of bias of the included studies.ResultsWe identified four retrospective cohort studies with 6768 records from MEDLINE, Embase, and CENTRAL databases up to 9th September 2021, and altogether 1835 patients were included to the analysis. The present meta-analysis shows that patients receiving adjuvant chemotherapy had a significantly longer OS than patients who underwent surgical treatment alone (HR = 0.5657, 95%CI: 0.4391–0.7290, p < 0.0001).ConclusionsDespite the limited information on the chemotherapy regimens in the included studies, patients with PSC may benefit from adjuvant chemotherapy. More publications are required to evaluate and compare efficient adjuvant chemotherapy protocols in PSC cases.     

妊娠合并长QT间期综合征的研究进展

长QT间期综合征（long QT syndrome,LQTS）是一种由基因突变导致离子通道结构或功能异常的遗传性心脏疾病,心电图以QT间期延长及T波改变为特征,易发生心悸、晕厥、心律失常、心脏骤停甚至猝死等。LQTS患者临床最常见的基因亚型为LQT1型、LQT2型和LQT3型,不同基因亚型的LQTS在突变基因、触发因素甚至心电图改变上均有差异,明确患者基因亚型,有助于临床诊断、治疗及对心脏事件发生的预防。有效预防心脏事件发生对LQTS患者是最重要的措施之一;合并LQTS孕产妇在妊娠、产褥期将经历激素水平、血流动力学改变等一系列生理性变化,均可能影响LQTS相关心脏事件的发生风险;其临床管理也不同于非LQTS孕产妇,有必要了解其发病机制、诊断标准、治疗方案及围生期管理的研究进展。     

Combination drug treatment prolongs survival of experimentally infected mice with silver-haired bat rabies virus

Rabies is a lethal disease in humans and animals, killing approximately 60,000 people every year. Currently, there is no treatment available, except post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) that can be administered whenever exposure to a rabid animal took place. Here we describe the beneficial effects of a combination treatment initiated at day 4 post infection, containing anti-viral drugs and immune modulators in infected mice. Combination therapy resulted in significant increase in survival time (P < 0.05) and significantly lowers viral RNA in the brain and spinal cord (P < 0.05). Furthermore, treatment influenced markers of pyroptosis and apoptosis and early inflammatory response as measured by the levels of TNF-α. Morphological lesions were absent in rabies virus infected mice with few signs of inflammation. However, these were not significant between the different groups.