Dexamethasone Treatment Options in Pennsylvania

This randomized phase I/II trial studies the side effects and best dose of pomalidomide and ixazomib when given together with dexamethasone and to see how well pomalidomide and dexamethasone with or without ixazomib works in treating patients with multiple myeloma that has come back. Biological therapies, such as pomalidomide and dexamethasone, may stimulate the immune system in different ways and stop cancer cells from growing. Ixazomib may stop the growth of cancer cells by blocking some of the enzymes needed for cell growth. It is not yet known whether pomalidomide and dexamethasone are more effective with or without ixazomib in treating multiple myeloma. Read Less

Compare the outcome following manipulation under anesthesia for stiffness in a randomized controlled fashion with one group receiving IV dexamethasone and oral celecoxib at the time of manipulation to a control group receiving manipulation alone. Outcomes will include pain, range of motion, as well as subjective outcome scores. Read Less

The addition of dexamethasone to non-liposomal bupivacaine in perineural blocks has been shown to enhance pain control and prolong the time until first request for postoperative narcotics in the fields of orthopedic, thoracic, and gynecologic surgery. This has not been investigated in any types of breast surgery. The investigators assessed if the combination of dexamethasone to bupivacaine in the preoperative field block prior to bilateral breast reduction surgery resulted in improved pain control relative to bupivacaine alone. Read Less

Health care providers are seeking methods to limit post-operative pain and opioid prescriptions to reduce the burden of the national opioid use epidemic. Adductor canal block (ACB) is a peripheral nerve block that has been shown to reduce pain and opioid usage with minimal effect on quadriceps function in patients undergoing arthroscopic knee surgery. Infiltration between Popliteal Artery and Capsule of the Knee (iPACK) block has also shown promise in reducing pain and opioid usage, specifically reducing posterior knee pain, which ACB is not able to achieve. To our knowledge, there is currently no study in the orthopedic literature comparing post-operative pain and opioid consumption in ACL reconstruction (ACLR) patients who received isolated ACB versus ACB with IPACK. The primary aim of this study is to investigate the role of IPACK in combination with ACB in reducing peri-operative (14-days) pain levels in ACLR patients. The secondary aim is to determine the effectiveness of IPACK in reducing post-operative opioid use. The tertiary aim is to determine any effect of IPACK on post-operative functional outcomes. Read Less

A multimodal analgesic regimen including regional anesthesia is used at UPMC Shadyside for primary thoracic and major abdominal surgeries. The current standard-of-care regional anesthesia techniques include Erector Spinae Plane (ESP) block for video assisted thorascopic surgery (VATS) and Quadratus Lumborum (QL) block for major abdominal surgery. These blocks are routinely administered as a continuous catheter technique in order to extend the duration of postoperative analgesia. Although rare, continuous nerve block techniques carry risks and limitations, including catheter dislodgement, migration, kinking and leaking at the site, bleeding, and infection. They are also much more expensive to perform and maintain than single-injection nerve blocks at this institution. Perioperative intravenous (IV) lidocaine is one of the safest local anesthetics, and its use has been shown to provide analgesia and reduce opioid requirements. Furthermore, it has been hypothesized that part of the analgesic efficacy of continuous peripheral nerve blocks may be due to the systemic effects of the local anesthetic infused at the site. Therefore, it is possible that the combination of a single block followed by an infusion of IV lidocaine may provide the same benefits as a continuous nerve block at a lower cost. The purpose of this study is to show that a single block technique plus IV lidocaine is non-inferior to a continuous block technique. For the purpose of this study we chose two surgical models--VATS and major abdominal surgery--and ESP and QL blocks, respectively. The study will be conducted as a prospective, randomized (1:1), open-label, active-comparator, noninferiority trial. The study will prospectively investigate the efficacy of continuous block versus single block plus IV lidocaine infusion for postoperative pain management in patients undergoing primary unilateral VATS or primary major abdominal surgery. Read Less

RATIONALE: Drugs used in chemotherapy, such as dexamethasone, cisplatin, gemcitabine, and cytarabine, work in different ways to stop cancer cells from dividing so they stop growing or die. Combining chemotherapy with autologous stem cell transplantation may allow the doctor to give higher doses of chemotherapy drugs and kill more cancer cells. Monoclonal antibodies, such as rituximab, can locate cancer cells and either kill them or deliver cancer-killing substances to them without harming normal cells. Giving rituximab as maintenance therapy after stem cell transplantation may kill any remaining cancer cells. It is not yet known which salvage chemotherapy regimen is more effective before autologous stem cell transplantation in treating relapsed or refractory non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. PURPOSE: This randomized phase III trial is studying salvage chemotherapy using dexamethasone, cisplatin, and gemcitabine to see how well it works compared to dexamethasone, cisplatin, and cytarabine given before autologous stem cell transplantation in treating patients with relapsed or refractory aggressive non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. This trial also is studying giving rituximab as maintenance therapy to see how well it works compared to no further therapy after stem cell transplantation. Rituximab was added to both salvage treatment arms for CD20+ patients in a protocol amendment in 2005. Read Less

The purpose of this study is to provide continued access to ixazomib and/or lenalidomide to participants who are continuing to have clinical benefit and to continue collecting relevant safety data to monitor safety in participants with Newly Diagnosed Multiple Myeloma (NDMM) who are not eligible for stem cell transplant. Read Less

The Macular Edema Ranibizumab v. Intravitreal anti-inflammatory Therapy (MERIT) Trial will compare the relative efficacy and safety of intravitreal methotrexate, intravitreal ranibizumab, and the intravitreal dexamethasone implant for the treatment of uveitic macular edema persisting or reoccurring after an intravitreal corticosteroid injection. MERIT is a parallel design (1:1:1), randomized comparative trial with an anniversary close-out after 6 months of follow-up. The primary outcome is percent change in central subfield thickness from the baseline OCT measurement to the 12 week visit. Read Less

RATIONALE: Drugs used in chemotherapy work in different ways to stop cancer cells from dividing so they stop growing or die. Combining chemotherapy with allogeneic or autologous stem cell transplantation may allow the doctor to give higher doses of chemotherapy drugs and kill more cancer cells. It is not yet known whether stem cell transplantation is more effective than standard chemotherapy in treating acute lymphoblastic leukemia. PURPOSE: This randomized phase III trial is studying how well stem cell transplantation works compared to standard combination chemotherapy in treating patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia in first remission. Read Less

RATIONALE: Monoclonal antibodies, such as rituximab, can block cancer growth in different ways. Some find cancer cells and kill them or carry cancer-killing substances to them. Others interfere with the ability of cancer cells to grow and spread. Drugs used in chemotherapy, such as methotrexate, leucovorin, vincristine, procarbazine, dexamethasone, and cytarabine, work in different ways to stop the growth of cancer cells, either by killing the cells or by stopping them from dividing. Giving rituximab together with combination chemotherapy may kill more cancer cells. PURPOSE: This phase II trial is studying how well giving rituximab together with combination chemotherapy works in treating patients with primary central nervous system (CNS) lymphoma. Read Less

RATIONALE: Epoetin alfa may stimulate red blood cell production and may help improve cancer-related anemia and fatigue. Steroid therapy with dexamethasone may increase the effectiveness of epoetin alfa. It is not yet known if epoetin alfa is more effective with or without dexamethasone in treating anemia-related fatigue in patients with prostate cancer. PURPOSE: This randomized phase III trial is studying epoetin alfa and dexamethasone to see how well they work compared to epoetin alfa alone in treating anemia-related fatigue in patients with prostate cancer that is refractory to treatment with hormone therapy. Read Less

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