A behavioural intervention leads to increased physical activity, improved sleep quality, reduced asthma and anxiety symptoms in adults with asthma, according to a latest study. This study was published in the journal, Respirology.

A randomized controlled clinical trial included 25 physically inactive adults with asthma in the control group and 24 in the intervention group. The intervention group had a behavioural intervention to increase physical activity whereas the control group received no behavioural intervention.

The intervention group had increased daily steps and physical activity from moderate to vigorous levels. This group also improved sleep efficiency, latency, increased asthma-symptom-free days, reduction in anxiety symptoms and presented clinical improvement in the asthma-related quality of life questionnaire when compared to the control group. Additionally,  a greater number of participants in the intervention group had improved sleep quality after the behavioural intervention as opposed to the control group.

This study has demonstrated that increased physical activity improves sleep quality, quality of life, reduces asthma and anxiety symptoms in adults with asthma.

According to a recent study, Tislelizumab can have significantly improved and long-term clinical benefit in overall survival in pretreated patients with advanced non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), when compared to docetaxel. This study was published in the Journal of Thoracic Oncology.

This phase 3 open-label, randomized controlled trial included 805 patients with locally advanced or metastatic squamous or nonsquamous NSCLC. The patients were randomized to receive either intravenous tislelizumab 200 mg or docetaxel 75 mg/m2 intravenously, every 3 weeks. The primary endpoints of the study were overall survival (OS) and programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) tumor cell expression greater than or equal to 25% populations.

A statistically significant and clinically meaningful improvement in OS with tislelizumab (median 17.2 months) was reported, compared to docetaxel (median 11.9 months). Moreover, another primary endpoint of OS in the PD-L1 tumor cell greater than or equal to 25% population was further met in the tislelizumab group.

Thus, based on the results of the study, tislelizumab can have significantly improved and long-term clinical benefit in OS versus docetaxel in pretreated patients with advanced NSCLC, regardless of PD-L1 expression.

A recent study demonstrated that propofol provided protective effect with a lower incidence of adverse respiratory events in children during the removal of the laryngeal mask airway (LMA®), when compared to sevoflurane. This study was published in the journal, Anesthesia and Analgesia.

This prospective, randomized, double-blind clinical trial included children between the age groups of 6 months to 7 years old, who were assigned to receive propofol [TIVA group] or sevoflurane [sevoflurane group]. The participants were mechanically ventilated and at the end of the procedure, LMAs were removed when patients were physiologically and neurologically recovered to a degree to permit a safe, natural airway. The occurrence of at least one respiratory adverse event, prevalence of individual respiratory adverse events, and the airway hyper-reactivity score following appearance from anesthesia between the two groups was the primary endpoint of the study.  

Children who had received TIVA with propofol had a significantly lower occurrence (10.8.% vs 36.2%) and lower severity of respiratory adverse events when compared to children who had received inhalational anesthesia with sevoflurane.

The results of the study showed that propofol induction and maintenance had minimal risk of perioperative respiratory complications during the during the removal of the laryngeal mask airway (LMA®) when compared to sevoflurane in healthy children.

According to a new study, piperacillin tazobactam combined with high-frequency chest-wall oscillation (HFCWO) for sputum evacuation is safe and can effectively treat patients with pneumonia in acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AE-COPD). This study was published in the journal, Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine.

This prospective, randomized controlled trial included 92 patients who had been admitted to the hospital with AE-COPD combined with pneumonia. The participants were randomized into two groups, each with 46 participants. The control group where the participants received conventional treatment with oxygen, antibiotics, antispasmodics, antiasthmatic drugs, and phlegmolytic drugs as well as HFCWO; and the intervention group received piperacillin tazobactam along with these treatments.

The results revealed that Piperacillin tazobactam combined with HFCWO for sputum evacuation can effectively shorten the disappearance time of clinical symptoms and hospitalization time of patients who have AE-COPD combined with pneumonia; improve patients’ pulmonary function; increase the IL-2 and IL-10 and decrease the TNF-α, CRP, and PCT levels; and regulate the blood-gas-analysis index, with few adverse effects and high safety .

Therefore, piperacillin tazobactam combined with HFCWO for sputum evacuation is effective to treat pneumonia in AE-COPD.