Dexamethasone Treatment Options in Connecticut

In recent years, there has been an emphasis on the creation of "enhanced-recovery", "fast-track" or "multi-modal" pathways to improve perioperative care (1-4). The goal of these programs is to reduce the length of hospital stay, decrease narcotic usage while improving pain control, accelerate post-operative recovery, and expedite return to baseline functional status. Pathways often are developed by a team of surgeons, nurses, pain specialists, anesthesiologists and other support staff. Postoperative components often involve multi-modal analgesia, early return to activity and early return to a regular diet. The goal of this study is to evaluate the efficacy of a multi-modal pain regimen in advanced pelvic surgery with a primary goal of decreasing narcotic usage. Read Less

RATIONALE: Gabapentin may prevent or reduce delayed nausea and vomiting caused by chemotherapy. It is not yet known whether gabapentin is more effective than a placebo in preventing nausea and vomiting. PURPOSE: This randomized phase III trial is studying the side effects of gabapentin and to see how well it works compared with a placebo in preventing nausea and vomiting in patients receiving chemotherapy. Read Less

Some newborns are born with congenital heart block (CHB), a condition occurring in babies with neonatal lupus. The first part of the study will test the effectiveness of fluorinated steroids, including dexamethasone, in improving the heart function and general health of newborns who have auto-antibody-associated CHB. The second part of this study will use ultrasound and heart monitoring to observe high-risk pregnant women and their fetuses during the third trimester of pregnancy. Read Less

RATIONALE: Drugs used in chemotherapy use different ways to stop cancer cells from dividing so they stop growing or die. Giving more than one drug may kill more cancer cells. It is not yet known which combination chemotherapy regimen is more effective in treating childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia. PURPOSE: This randomized phase III trial is comparing different combination chemotherapy regimens to see how well they work in treating children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Read Less

This multicenter clinical trial tested whether minimal ventilation decreases death or BPD. Infants with birth weight 501g to 1000g and mechanically ventilated before 12 hours were randomly assigned to minimal ventilation (partial pressure of carbon dioxide \[PCO(2)\] target \>52 mm Hg) or routine ventilation (PCO(2) target \<48 mm Hg) and a tapered dexamethasone course or saline placebo for 10 days, using a 2 x 2 factorial design. The primary outcome was death or BPD at 36 weeks' postmenstrual age. Blood gases, ventilator settings, and FiO2 were recorded for 10 days; complications and outcomes were monitored to discharge. The infants' neurodevelopment was evaluated at 18-22 months corrected age. Read Less

RATIONALE: Sometimes the cancer may not need treatment until it progresses. In this case, observation may be sufficient. Giving combination chemotherapy together with bortezomib, thalidomide, and rituximab before an autologous peripheral stem cell transplant stops the growth of cancer cells by stopping them from dividing or killing them. Giving colony-stimulating factors, such as G-CSF, helps stem cells move from the bone marrow to the blood so they can be collected and stored. More chemotherapy is then given to prepare the bone marrow for the stem cell transplant. The stem cells are then returned to the patient to replace the blood-forming cells that were destroyed by the chemotherapy. PURPOSE: This observational and phase II trial is studying how well giving combination chemotherapy together with bortezomib, thalidomide, and rituximab followed by two autologous peripheral blood stem cell transplants works in treating patients with Waldenstrom macroglobulinemia. Read Less

The purpose of the study is to compare the progression-free survival (PFS) of the combination of trabectedin + DOXIL with DOXIL monotherapy in patients with ovarian cancer. Read Less

To assess the response of melanoma with brain metastases to ipilimumab treatment while maintaining acceptable tolerability. Read Less

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the safety and efficacy of siltuximab in participants with relapsed (the return of a disease or the signs and symptoms of a disease after a period of improvement.) or refractory (cancer that does not respond to treatment) multiple myeloma (a type of cancer that begins in plasma cells \[white blood cells that produce antibodies\]). Read Less

This is a randomized, open label, multicenter clinical trial to compare the efficacy and safety of Velcade (bortezomib) and dexamethasone versus Velcade, thalidomide, and dexamethasone versus Velcade, melphalan, and prednisone in patients with previously untreated multiple myeloma not considered candidates for high-dose chemotherapy and autologous stem cell transplantation. Read Less

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of trabectedin in 3 subpopulations of participants with previously treated progressive metastatic ( spread of a cancer from one organ or part to another non-adjacent organ or part) breast cancer (abnormal tissue that grows and spreads in the body until it kills) participants. Read Less

RATIONALE: Drugs used in chemotherapy use different ways to stop cancer cells from dividing so they stop growing or die. Giving the drugs in different combinations may kill more cancer cells. Bone marrow transplantation allows the doctor to give higher doses of chemotherapy and kill more cancer cells. PURPOSE: Phase II trial to compare the effectiveness of combination chemotherapy with or without donor bone marrow transplantation in treating infants who have previously untreated acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Read Less