A phase II, single-center, double-blind, randomized placebo-controlled trial to explore the efficacy and safety of intravenous melatonin in surgical patients with severe sepsis admitted to the intensive care unit.

To determine whether IV melatonin therapy improves redox status and inflammatory responses in surgical patients with severe sepsis, a unicenter, phase II double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial was carried out. The study included patients with severe sepsis marked by infectious systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS), associated with organ dysfunction, hypoperfusion or hypotension requiring surgical intervention. IV melatonin at a daily dose of 60 mg, which was dissolved in 500 ml of 5% dextrose serum, was continuously administered to the patients for over 30 min starting on the day of the diagnoses during a 5-day period.

Controversies in the management of adjuvant breast cancer with taxanes: review of the current literature.

Taxanes offer clear benefits in adjuvant chemotherapy for early breast cancer. This review examines evidence to date on the clinical effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of their use in the adjuvant treatment of women with early breast cancer, based on three meta-analyses, one systematic review, five clinical practice guidelines and 16 randomized clinical trials. Against the background of a major increase in the use of docetaxel rather than paclitaxel in our setting over the past few years, implying a major increase in costs, we examined whether this higher use of docetaxel is supported by the available evidence.