A randomised controlled trial assessing the efficacy and safety of repeated tegaserod therapy in women with irritable bowel syndrome with constipation

BACKGROUND

It has been proposed that treatments for irritable bowel syndrome with constipation (IBS-C) should provide rapid symptomatic relief, be intermittent, and effective upon repeated use.

AIMS

To evaluate the efficacy and safety of tegaserod on IBS symptoms, and its impact on quality of life and health economic measures.

PATIENTS

Women (> or = 18 years of age) with IBS-C according to the Rome II criteria.

METHODS

Prospective, double blind, placebo controlled, randomised trial. Women with IBS-C either received tegaserod 6 mg twice daily or placebo for one month. Patients with at least a partial response entered a treatment free interval. Upon symptom recurrence, tegaserod treated patients were re-randomised to tegaserod or placebo for an additional month. Primary efficacy variables were response (overall IBS symptoms and abdominal discomfort/pain) to first and repeated treatment. Analysis was by intention to treat.

RESULTS

2660 patients and 1191 patients were randomised for first and repeated treatment respectively. Tegaserod was superior to placebo for each primary efficacy variable (first treatment: 33.7% v 24.2% responders respectively for relief of IBS symptoms and 31.3% v 22.1% for relief of abdominal discomfort/pain; repeated treatment: 44.9% v 28.7%, and 42.4% v 27.1%, all p < 0.0001). Tegaserod was superior to placebo for every secondary efficacy variable (relief of abdominal discomfort/pain, bloating and constipation; stool frequency and consistency). A response to tegaserod was observed within the first treatment week. Tegaserod produced greater satisfaction, work productivity, and improved quality of life than placebo (p < 0.05).

CONCLUSION

Tegaserod provides rapid and sustained relief of IBS-C symptoms both during first and repeated treatment.

Darifenacin treatment of patients >or= 65 years with overactive bladder: results of a randomized, controlled, 12-week trial

BACKGROUND

Overactive bladder (OAB) increases in prevalence with advancing age. This study specifically investigated patients >or= 65 years, evaluating the efficacy, tolerability, safety and quality of life (QoL) outcomes from darifenacin treatment.

METHODS

Patients (n = 400, mean age 72 years) with OAB were randomized (2:1) to receive 12 weeks of double-blind treatment with darifenacin (7.5 mg once daily for 2 weeks, then optional titration to 15 mg daily) or placebo (with sham titration). Efficacy, tolerability and safety were assessed from patient diary data, adverse events and discontinuations and QoL outcomes using specific questionnaires.

RESULTS

Mean urgency urinary incontinence episodes (UUIEs) decreased significantly from baseline to Week 12 with both darifenacin (-88.6%) and placebo (-77.9%; p > 0.05), with 70% and 58% patients responding with >or= 50% reductions, respectively (p = 0.021). This was accompanied by significant differences between groups in reductions in micturition frequency (-25.3% with darifenacin vs. -18.5% placebo; p < 0.01). QoL assessments revealed significant improvements with darifenacin versus placebo at Week 12 in OAB-q, Patient Perception of Bladder Condition, and patient and physician assessments of treatment benefit (all p < 0.001). The most commonly reported adverse events were dry mouth and constipation.

CONCLUSIONS

This study demonstrated that marked improvements in OAB symptoms can be achieved in patients >or= 65 years, with significant treatment differences in responder rates, micturition frequency and QoL. Reduction in UUIEs may not be the optimal endpoint in this population, whereas QoL appears to be a sensitive and relevant patient-oriented measure of treatment effect.

Darifenacin treatment for overactive bladder in patients who expressed dissatisfaction with prior extended-release antimuscarinic therapy

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVE

Patient perception of overactive bladder (OAB) treatment outcomes can be a useful indicator of benefit and may help drive persistence on treatment, which is known to be poor in OAB. It remains unclear whether OAB patients dissatisfied with one antimuscarinic can achieve satisfaction with another and supporting data are limited. This study investigated patient-reported outcomes and clinical parameters during darifenacin treatment in OAB patients who expressed dissatisfaction with prior extended-release (ER) oxybutynin or tolterodine therapy (administered for >or= 1 week within the past year).

METHODS

This open-label study was conducted in darifenacin-naïve OAB patients. Patients received 7.5 mg darifenacin once daily with the possibility of up-titrating to 15 mg after 2 weeks, for up to 12 weeks. Efficacy parameters included the Patient's Perception of Bladder Condition (PPBC), patient satisfaction with treatment, micturition frequency and number of urgency and urge urinary incontinence (UUI) episodes. Adverse events (AEs) were also recorded.

RESULTS

In total, 497 patients were treated (84.1% women). Darifenacin treatment resulted in statistically significant improvements in PPBC scores, micturition frequency, urgency and UUI episodes from baseline at 12 weeks. The improvements were similar for patients previously treated with oxybutynin ER or tolterodine ER. More than 85% of patients expressed satisfaction with darifenacin. As noted in other studies, the most common AEs were dry mouth and constipation, but these infrequently resulted in treatment discontinuation, which was low overall.

CONCLUSIONS

In this study, PPBC score and OAB symptoms were significantly improved, and satisfaction was high during treatment with darifenacin (7.5/15 mg) in patients who were dissatisfied with the previous antimuscarinic treatment.

Acute kidney injury in hospitalized HIV-infected patients: a cohort analysis

BACKGROUND

Acute kidney injury (AKI) in hospitalized human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected patients in the highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) era has not been extensively addressed. The aim of the present study was to analyze the incidence, etiology, risk factors and the impact of AKI on in-hospital mortality in this population.

METHODS

A total of 489 HIV-infected patients hospitalized in the Department of Infectious Diseases of the Hospital de Santa Maria (Lisbon, Portugal) between January 2005 and December 2007 were retrospectively studied. AKI was defined by 'Risk Injury Failure Loss of kidney function End-stage kidney disease'(RIFLE) criteria based on serum creatinine. Comparisons between patients with and without AKI were performed using the Student's t-test or the χ2 test. Logistic regression method was used to determine predictors of AKI and in-hospital mortality. A two-tailed P-value <0.05 was considered significant.

RESULTS

Eighty-eight patients (18%) had AKI within the hospitalization period. The most common etiologies of AKI were sepsis (59%), nephrotoxic drug administration (37.5%), volume depletion (21.6%) and radiocontrast use (20.5%). Preexisting hypertension [adjusted odds ratio (OR) 2.4, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.04-5.6, P = 0.04], acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (adjusted OR 2.7, 95% CI 1.2-6, P = 0.02), sepsis (adjusted OR 23, 95% CI 11-45.3, P < 0.001) and nephrotoxic drug administration (adjusted OR 2.8, 95% CI 1.4-5.8, P = 0.004) were risk factors of AKI. Patients with AKI had higher in-hospital mortality than patients without AKI (27.3 versus 8%, P < 0.001). In multivariate analysis, AKI was a risk factor of in-hospital mortality (adjusted OR 2.7, 95% CI 1.3-5.6, P = 0.008).

CONCLUSION

AKI occurred in 18% of hospitalized HIV-infected patients and it was independently associated with increased in-hospital mortality.

In-depth analysis of laboratory parameters reveals the interplay between sex, age, and systemic inflammation in individuals with COVID-19

BACKGROUND

The progression and severity of COVID-19 vary significantly in the population. While the hallmarks of SARS-CoV-2 and severe COVID-19 within routine laboratory parameters are emerging, the impact of sex and age on these profiles is still unknown.

METHODS

A multidimensional analysis was performed involving millions of records of laboratory parameters and diagnostic tests for 178 887 individuals from Brazil, of whom 33 266 tested positive for SARS-CoV-2. Analyzed data included those relating to complete blood cell count, electrolytes, metabolites, arterial blood gases, enzymes, hormones, cancer biomarkers, and others.

FINDINGS

COVID-19 induced similar alterations in laboratory parameters in males and females. CRP and ferritin were increased, especially in older men with COVID-19, whereas abnormal liver function tests were common across several age groups, except for young women. Low peripheral blood basophils and eosinophils were more common in the elderly with COVID-19. Both male and female COVID-19 patients admitted to intensive care units displayed alterations in the coagulation system, and higher values for neutrophils, CRP, and lactate dehydrogenase.

CONCLUSIONS

Our study uncovered the laboratory profiles of a large cohort of COVID-19 patients, which formed the basis of discrepancies influenced by aging and biological sex. These profiles directly linked COVID-19 disease presentation to an intricate interplay between sex, age, and immune activation.

Discovery of Delirium Biomarkers through Minimally Invasive Serum Molecular Fingerprinting

Delirium presents a significant clinical challenge, primarily due to its profound impact on patient outcomes and the limitations of the current diagnostic methods, which are largely subjective. During the COVID-19 pandemic, this challenge was intensified as the frequency of delirium assessments decreased in Intensive Care Units (ICUs), even as the prevalence of delirium among critically ill patients increased. The present study evaluated how the serum molecular fingerprint, as acquired by Fourier-Transform InfraRed (FTIR) spectroscopy, can enable the development of predictive models for delirium. A preliminary univariate analysis of serum FTIR spectra indicated significantly different bands between 26 ICU patients with delirium and 26 patients without, all of whom were admitted with COVID-19. However, these bands resulted in a poorly performing Naïve-Bayes predictive model. Considering the use of a Fast-Correlation-Based Filter for feature selection, it was possible to define a new set of spectral bands with a wider coverage of molecular functional groups. These bands ensured an excellent Naïve-Bayes predictive model, with an AUC, a sensitivity, and a specificity all exceeding 0.92. These spectral bands, acquired through a minimally invasive analysis and obtained rapidly, economically, and in a high-throughput mode, therefore offer significant potential for managing delirium in critically ill patients.

Simplifying Data Analysis in Biomedical Research: An Automated, User-Friendly Tool

Robust data normalization and analysis are pivotal in biomedical research to ensure that observed differences in populations are directly attributable to the target variable, rather than disparities between control and study groups. ArsHive addresses this challenge using advanced algorithms to normalize populations (e.g., control and study groups) and perform statistical evaluations between demographic, clinical, and other variables within biomedical datasets, resulting in more balanced and unbiased analyses. The tool's functionality extends to comprehensive data reporting, which elucidates the effects of data processing, while maintaining dataset integrity. Additionally, ArsHive is complemented by A.D.A. (Autonomous Digital Assistant), which employs OpenAI's GPT-4 model to assist researchers with inquiries, enhancing the decision-making process. In this proof-of-concept study, we tested ArsHive on three different datasets derived from proprietary data, demonstrating its effectiveness in managing complex clinical and therapeutic information and highlighting its versatility for diverse research fields.