Effect of disease duration and other characteristics on efficacy outcomes in clinical trials of tocilizumab for rheumatoid arthritis.

Objective: To determine the extent to which disease duration, alone or in combination with other baseline clinical and non-clinical factors, explains variations in outcome of tocilizumab initiated in biologic-naïve patients with established RA.

Methods: In this pooled analysis of phase 3 and 4 clinical trials conducted by the sponsor, predictors of response, including demographics, disease characteristics at baseline (start of tocilizumab dosing) and study characteristics (e.g.

Effect on efficacy and safety trial outcomes of also enrolling patients on ongoing glucocorticoid therapy in rheumatoid arthritis clinical trials of tocilizumab or adalimumab or methotrexate monotherapy.

Background: In rheumatoid arthritis (RA) trials, inclusion of patients on background treatment with glucocorticoids (GCs) might impact efficacy and safety outcomes.

Objectives: To determine if inclusion of patients on background GC use influenced efficacy and safety outcomes of RA randomised clinical trials on initiation of tocilizumab (TCZ) or adalimumab (ADA) or methotrexate (MTX) monotherapy.

Methods: Data of four double-blind RA randomised controlled trials (AMBITION, ACT-RAY, ADACTA and FUNCTION) with in total four TCZ, one ADA and two MTX monotherapy arms were analysed.

Meta-analysis and the reversed Theorem of the Means.

Conventional meta-analysis estimators are weighted means of study measures, meant to estimate an overall population measure. For measures such as means, mean differences and risk differences, a weighted arithmetic mean is the conventional estimator. When the measures are ratios, such as odds ratios, logarithms of the study measures are most frequently used, and the back-transform is a weighted geometric mean, rather than the arithmetic mean.

Relationship of coronary artery plaque composition to coronary artery stenosis severity: results from the prospective multicenter ACCURACY trial.

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship of coronary artery plaque composition as detected by coronary computed tomographic angiography (CCTA) to luminal diameter stenosis severity quantified by quantitative coronary angiography (QCA) in individuals without known coronary artery disease (CAD) presenting with stable chest pain syndrome.

Background: While CCTA has been previously evaluated for its ability to detect and exclude coronary artery stenosis, CCTA also permits assessment of other important plaque characteristics, including plaque composition. Identification of the relationship between plaque composition by CCTA and plaque severity by invasive angiography may provide valuable insight into the pathophysiology of coronary artery plaque.

Higher tobramycin concentration and vibrating mesh technology can shorten antibiotic treatment time in cystic fibrosis.

Poor adherence to recommended therapy in cystic fibrosis (CF) is often because of the time demands of therapy. Tobramycin (TOBI®, 300 mg at 60 mg/ml) inhaled from the PARI LC PLUS® nebulizer requires about 20 min. This study determined if equivalent levels of pulmonary deposition could be achieved in shorter time using 1.