SummaryBackgroundThe Xpert MTB/RIF assay is an automated molecular test that has improved the detection of tuberculosis and rifampicin resistance, but its sensitivity is inadequate in patients with paucibacillary disease or HIV. Xpert MTB/RIF Ultra (Xpert Ultra) was developed to overcome this limitation. We compared the diagnostic performance of Xpert Ultra with that of Xpert for detection of tuberculosis and rifampicin resistance.MethodsIn this prospective, multicentre, diagnostic accuracy study, we recruited adults with pulmonary tuberculosis symptoms presenting at primary health-care centres and hospitals in eight countries (South Africa, Uganda, Kenya, India, China, Georgia, Belarus, and Brazil). Participants were allocated to the case detection group if no drugs had been taken for tuberculosis in the past 6 months or to the multidrug-resistance risk group if drugs for tuberculosis had been taken in the past 6 months, but drug resistance was suspected. Demographic information, medical history, chest imaging results, and HIV test results were recorded at enrolment, and each participant gave at least three sputum specimen on 2 separate days. Xpert and Xpert Ultra diagnostic performance in the same sputum specimen was compared with culture tests and drug susceptibility testing as reference standards. The primary objectives were to estimate and compare the sensitivity of Xpert Ultra test with that of Xpert for detection of smear-negative tuberculosis and rifampicin resistance and to estimate and compare Xpert Ultra and Xpert specificities for detection of rifampicin resistance. Study participants in the case detection group were included in all analyses, whereas participants in the multidrug-resistance risk group were only included in analyses of rifampicin-resistance detection.FindingsBetween Feb 18, and Dec 24, 2016, we enrolled 2368 participants for sputum sampling. 248 participants were excluded from the analysis, and 1753 participants were distributed to the case detection group (n=1439) and the multidrug-resistance risk group (n=314). Sensitivities of Xpert Ultra and Xpert were 63% and 46%, respectively, for the 137 participants with smear-negative and culture-positive sputum (difference of 17%, 95% CI 10 to 24); 90% and 77%, respectively, for the 115 HIV-positive participants with culture-positive sputum (13%, 6·4 to 21); and 88% and 83%, respectively, across all 462 participants with culture-positive sputum (5·4%, 3·3 to 8·0). Specificities of Xpert Ultra and Xpert for case detection were 96% and 98% (−2·7%, −3·9 to −1·7) overall, and 93% and 98% for patients with a history of tuberculosis. Xpert Ultra and Xpert performed similarly in detecting rifampicin resistance.InterpretationFor tuberculosis case detection, sensitivity of Xpert Ultra was superior to that of Xpert in patients with paucibacillary disease and in patients with HIV. However, this increase in sensitivity came at the expense of a decrease in specificity.FundingGovernment of Netherlands, Government of Australia, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundati...

Intravenous (IV) and subcutaneous (SC) tocilizumab (RoActemra®), an IL-6 receptor antagonist, are approved (± methotrexate) in numerous countries throughout the world, for the treatment of adults with moderate to severe active rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Extensive clinical experience has firmly established the short- and long-term efficacy and safety of tocilizumab [monotherapy or in combination with conventional synthetic DMARDs (csDMARDs)] in adults with early-stage and longer-duration established RA. In the clinical trial and real-world settings, tocilizumab monotherapy or combination therapy provided rapid and sustained improvements in clinical and radiographic outcomes and health-related quality of life. The safety profile of tocilizumab is consistent over time and, in general, is consistent with that of other immunomodulatory agents. This narrative review, written from an EU perspective, summarizes the clinical use of IV and SC tocilizumab in RA. Given its low risk of immunogenicity, the flexibility of IV and SC administration and the convenience of the once-weekly, self-administered, SC regimen, tocilizumab provides an effective treatment for severe, active and progressive RA in adults not previously treated with methotrexate and an effective biologic first- or subsequent-line treatment for moderate to severe active RA in adults who have either responded inadequately to or were intolerant of previous therapy with ≥ 1 csDMARD or TNF inhibitor.

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Apatinib [Aitan (brand name in China)], also known as rivoceranib, is a novel, small molecule, selective vascular endothelial growth factor receptor-2 (VEGFR-2) tyrosine kinase inhibitor and is the second anti-angiogenic drug to be approved in China for the treatment of advanced or metastatic gastric cancer. This article summarizes the pharmacological properties of apatinib and reviews its clinical use in chemotherapy-experienced patients with advanced gastric adenocarcinoma, including gastroesophageal adenocarcinoma (GEA), or with other advanced cancers such as non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), breast cancer, gynaecological cancers, hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), thyroid cancer and sarcomas. As third- or subsequent-line therapy, oral apatinib significantly prolonged median progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) compared with placebo and had a manageable safety profile in Chinese patients with advanced or metastatic gastric cancer or GEA participating in randomized, double-blind, multicentre, phase 2 and 3 trials. More limited evidence also supports it use as subsequent-line treatment in Chinese patients with other advanced or metastatic solid tumours, including NSCLC, breast cancer and HCC. Further clinical experience and long-term pharmacovigilance data are required to more definitively establish the efficacy and safety profile of apatinib, including its use in combination with other chemotherapy agents and its role in the management of other types of advanced or metastatic solid tumours. In the meantime, given its convenient administration regimen and the limited treatment options and poor prognosis for patients with advanced or metastatic solid tumours, apatinib is an important, emerging treatment option for adult patients with advanced gastric adenocarcinoma or GEA who have progressed or relapsed after chemotherapy.

Intravenous paracetamol (rINN)/intravenous acetaminophen (USAN) is an analgesic and antipyretic agent, recommended worldwide as a first-line agent for the treatment of pain and fever in adults and children. In double-blind clinical trials, single or multiple doses of intravenous paracetamol 1 g generally provided significantly better analgesic efficacy than placebo treatment (as determined by primary efficacy endpoints) in adult patients who had undergone dental, orthopaedic or gynaecological surgery. Furthermore, where evaluated, intravenous paracetamol 1 g generally showed similar analgesic efficacy to a bioequivalent dose of propacetamol, and a reduced need for opioid rescue medication. In paediatric surgical patients, recommended doses of intravenous paracetamol 15 mg/kg were not significantly different from propacetamol 30 mg/kg for the treatment of pain, and showed equivocal analgesic efficacy compared with intramuscular pethidine 1 mg/kg in several randomized, active comparator-controlled studies. In a randomized, noninferiority study in paediatric patients with an infection-induced fever, intravenous paracetamol 15 mg/kg treatment was shown to be no less effective than propacetamol 30 mg/kg in terms of antipyretic efficacy. Intravenous paracetamol was well tolerated in clinical trials, having a tolerability profile similar to placebo. Additionally, adverse reactions emerging from the use of the intravenous formulation of paracetamol are extremely rare (<1/10 000). [table: see text].

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In long term, well designed trials miglitol reduces fasting and postprandial plasma glucose levels, thus improving glycaemic control, which is reflected in a reduced HbA1c level in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. Most adverse events associated with miglitol involve disturbances of the gastrointestinal tract. This agent is a useful first-line therapy in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus insufficiently controlled by diet alone and as second-line or as adjuvant therapy in those insufficiently controlled with diet and sulphonylurea agents. Miglitol may prove particularly beneficial in elderly patients and those with hepatic impairment or mild to moderate renal impairment, in whom other oral antidiabetic agents are contraindicated or need to be used with caution.

Oral niraparib, a highly-selective, potent poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP)-1 and PARP-2 inhibitor, is approved in the USA for the maintenance treatment of adult patients with recurrent epithelial ovarian, fallopian tube or primary peritoneal cancer who are in a complete or partial response to platinum-based chemotherapy. It is also under regulatory review in the EU for use in maintenance treatment in patients with platinum-sensitive, recurrent epithelial ovarian cancer who are in response to platinum-based chemotherapy. In the multinational, phase 3 NOVA trial in adult patients with platinum-sensitive, recurrent ovarian cancer, niraparib significantly prolonged median progression-free survival, irrespective of the presence or absence of a germline BRCA (gBRCA) mutation and irrespective of the presence or absence of homologous recombinant deficiency. Niraparib is also in development for use in other solid tumours, including breast and prostate cancer. This article summarizes the milestones in the development of niraparib leading to its first global approval for the maintenance treatment of adult patients with recurrent epithelial ovarian, fallopian tube or primary peritoneal cancer.