Does nivolumab for progressed metastatic lung cancer fulfill its promises? An efficacy and safety analysis in 20 general hospitals.

Objectives: In patients with refractory or recurrent non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) after first line chemotherapy, phase III trials showed superiority of nivolumab, an IgG4 programmed death-1 immune-checkpoint-inhibitor antibody, over docetaxel. We evaluated case mix, effectiveness and safety of nivolumab upon implementation in general practice.

Materials And Methods: In 20 general hospitals, all consecutive NSCLC patients treated with nivolumab within the medical need program (inclusion period 12 months) in Flanders - Belgium were evaluated.

The influence of tocolytic drugs on cardiac function, large arteries, and resistance vessels.

Purpose: Beta-2 adrenoceptor agonistic drugs like ritodrine have been the reference tocolytic drugs, but are associated with cardiovascular side-effects. Atosiban, a newer drug, is a competitive antagonist of oxytocin and has been claimed to have fewer cardiovascular side effects. Until now, there has mainly been a subjective reporting of adverse reactions and few objective cardiovascular data.

Different effects of tocolytic medication on blood pressure and blood pressure amplification.

Background: The importance of tocolysis has been discussed extensively. Beta-2 adrenoceptor agonistic drugs like ritodrine have been the reference tocolytic drugs in most countries. Cardiovascular side-effects are frequent.

The use of diameter distension waveforms as an alternative for tonometric pressure to assess carotid blood pressure.

Proper non-invasive assessment of carotid artery pressure ideally uses waveforms recorded at two anatomical locations: the brachial and the carotid artery. Calibrated diameter distension waveforms could provide a more widely applicable alternative for local arterial pressure assessment than applanation tonometry. This approach might be of particular use at the brachial artery, where the feasibility of a reliable tonometric measurement has been questioned.