Single maintenance and reliever therapy The paper by Chapman et al reviewing single maintenance and reliever therapy (SMART) in asthma is important in highlighting some of the inadequacies of existing research evaluating this treatment method. The authors also claim that SMART fails to achieve adequate asthma control as measured by GINA criteria and provide a table detailing seven studies and a...

Although current recommendations for the treatment of advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) include a maximum of six cycles of platinum-based combination therapy as a first-line approach, most patients experience progression within 3-4 months. Therefore, a new treatment strategy, maintenance therapy, has been proposed, and several large randomized prospective controlled trials have shown ...

neonatal purpura fulminans is a rare and life threatening disease that can be inherited or acquired in etiology. it manifests as dic and extensive subcutaneous thrombosis. the condition is often fatal unless there is prompt diagnosis, and judicious therapy. the most important causes of this condition are infections and congenital deficiency of anticoagulant proteins c and s.in the case of pc (p...

Some clinical trials follow a design where patients are randomized to a primary therapy at entry followed by another randomization to maintenance therapy contingent upon disease remission. Ideally, analysis would allow different treatment policies, i.e., combinations of primary and maintenance therapy if specified up-front, to be compared. Standard practice is to conduct separate analyses for t...

Multiple myeloma is the second most common type of blood cancer and remains incurable despite advances in therapy. Current therapy for multiple myeloma includes a phased-approach, often consisting of initial induction therapy, consolidation and maintenance therapy. With an ever-growing landscape of treatment options, the approach to optimal therapy has become increasingly complex. Specifically,...