Elderly patients differed significantly in terms of presence of symptoms (p<0.001), including thoracic pain (p=0.003), dyspnea (p<0.001), cough (p<0.001) and fatigue

(p<0.001), Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status (PS) 2-3 (p<0.001), and histological type (more commonly diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma (p<0.002) and less frequently with adenocarcinoma). Although elderly patients had significantly higher rates of PS 2-3, they had significantly better median time to disease progression (TTP) compared to the younger counterpart MG132 (6.4 versus 4.3 months p=0.047). Overall survival (OS) was not significantly different between elderly and young patients (median OS 11.8 versus 11.5 months; p=0.6), but platinum-based chemotherapy and radiotherapy were variables associated favorably with TTP and Linsitinib mw survival in the elderly. This large retrospective series presents strong evidence that NSCLC constitutes a similar clinicopathologic entity in elderly and young individuals with discretely differing biological behavior and that elderly symptomatic patients should be considered for effective anticancer treatment whenever

possible.”
“The incidence of fentanyl-induced cough (FIC) occurs frequently during induction of general anesthesia, and methods to prevent it are needed. In this study, we hypothesized that premedication with intravenous dexmedetomidine-midazolam can suppress FIC effectively.

A total of 440 patients of ASA I or II, aged 18-65 years, weighing

41-90 kg, undergoing elective surgery were randomized into four groups of 110 each, using computer-generated random numbers. Group S + S: normal saline 0.15 ml/kg + normal saline 0.06 ml/kg; Group S + M: normal saline 0.15 ml/kg + midazolam 0.06 mg/kg; Group D + S: dexmedetomidine 0.6 mu g/kg + normal saline 0.06 ml/kg; Group D + M: dexmedetomidine 0.6 mu g/kg + midazolam 0.06 mg/kg. After receiving the above-mentioned drugs, all patients received i.v. fentanyl (3 mu g/kg). After fentanyl administration, the onset time and the severity of cough for 1 min were recorded. Severity of coughing was graded as AR-13324 in vitro mild (1-2), moderate (3-5) and (> 5) based on the number of cough per minute.

Forty-five (40.9%) patients had cough in Group S + S, 70 (63.6%) in Group S + M and 25 (22.7%) in Group D + S. None of the patients in Group D + M had any cough. The total incidence of cough was significantly higher (P < 0.01) in Group S + M in comparison to that in other groups. The onset time of cough was significantly shorter in Group S + M (13.8 +/- A 3.8 s) than in Group S + S (18.7 +/- A 3.9 s, P < 0.01) or Group D + S. (18.2 +/- A 3.2 s, P < 0.01). However, there was no significant difference among groups in cough severity.