Ceftaroline fosamil achieved high clinical cure and microbiological response rates in patients hospitalized with CAP of PORT risk class III or IV. Ceftaroline fosamil was well tolerated, with a safety profile that is similar to that of ceftriaxone and other cephalosporins. Ceftaroline fosamil is a promising agent for the treatment of CAP.

The addition of dulanermin to PC and PCB did not improve outcomes in unselected patients with previously untreated advanced or recurrent NSCLC.

The aim of this study was to investigate the utility of pulmonary rehabilitation for improving of exercises efficiency, dyspnea, and quality of life of patients with lung cancer during chemotherapy. After the enrollment selection, the study included 20 patients with newly diagnosed advanced lung cancer and performance status 0-2. There were 12 patients randomly allocated to the pulmonary rehabilitation group and another 8 constituted the control group that did not undergo physical rehabilitation. Both groups of patients had continual cycles of chemotherapy. Data were analyzed before and after 8 weeks of physical rehabilitation, and before and after 8 weeks of observation without rehabilitation in controls. The inpatient rehabilitation program was based on exercise training with ski poles and respiratory muscle training. We found a tendency for enhanced mobility (6 Minute Walk Test: 527.3 ± 107.4 vs. 563.9 ±64.6 m; p > 0.05) and a significant increase in forced expired volume in 1 s (66.9 ± 13.2 vs. 78.4 ± 17.7 %predicted; p = 0.016), less dyspnea (p = 0.05), and a tendency for improvement in the general quality of life questionnaire after completion of pulmonary rehabilitation as compared with the control group. This report suggests that pulmonary rehabilitation in advanced lung cancer patients during chemotherapy is a beneficial intervention to reduce dyspnea and enhance the quality of life and mobility.

Effectiveness of pulmonary rehabilitation in patients with chronic obstructive lung diseases, cystic fibrosis, and interstitial lung disease is well documented but little is known about the results of pulmonary rehabilitation in patients referred for lung transplantation. The purpose of this study is to prospectively examine the efficacy of Nordic walking, a low cost, accessible, and proven beneficial form of physical exercise, as a form of pulmonary rehabilitation in patients referred for lung transplantation. Twenty-two male patients referred for lung transplantation at the Department of Lung Diseases and Tuberculosis in Zabrze, Poland, were invited to take part in the study. The rehabilitation program, which was conducted for 12 weeks, was based on Nordic walking exercise training with ski poles. Lung function tests (FVC, FEV1), mobility (6 min walking test (6MWT)), rating of dyspnea (Oxygen Cost Index, MRC and Baseline Dyspnea Index), and quality of life assessments (SF-36) were performed before and after the completion of the exercise program. No adverse events were observed after completing the pulmonary rehabilitation program in patients referred for lung transplantation. After 12 weeks of pulmonary rehabilitation with Nordic walking we observed a significant increase in the mean distance walked in the 6MWT (310.2 m vs. 372.1 m, p < 0.05). The results of lung function tests also showed improvement in FVC. There were no significant differences in the perception of dyspnea before and after completing the rehabilitation program. General health and quality of life questionnaire (SF-36) showed improvement in the domain of social functioning (p < 0.05). In conclusion, pulmonary rehabilitation with a Nordic walking program is a safe and feasible physical activity in end-stage lung disease patients referred for lung transplantation and results in improvements in patients' mobility and quality of life.

Introduction Testing for the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) gene mutations requires considerable multidisciplinary experience of clinicians (for appropriate patient selection), pathologists (for selection of appropriate cytological or histological material) and geneticists (for performing and reporting reliable molecular tests). We present our experience on the efficacy of routine EGFR testing in various types of tumor samples and the frequency of EGFR mutations in a large series of Polish non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients. MethodsDeletions in exon 19 and substitution L858R in exon 21 of EGFR gene were assessed using real-time PCR techniques in 1,138 small biopsies or cytological specimens and in 1,312 surgical samples. ResultsOut of 2,450 diagnostic samples (containing >10 % of tumor cells), the occurrence of EGFR gene mutations was 9 %; more frequently in women (13.9 %) and adenocarcinoma patients (10 %), particularly with accompanying expression of TTF1 (13.0 %). The frequency of EGFR gene mutations was similar in cytological and histological specimens, and in primary and metastatic lesions, and did not depend on the percentage of tumor cells and quality of isolated DNA. Cytological or small biopsy, compared to surgical specimens showed lower percentage of tumor cells, with no impact on the quality of real-time PCR assay.ConclusionCytological and small biopsy samples with low (10–20 %) content of tumor cells and specimens from metastatic lesions are a sufficient source for EGFR mutation testing in NSCLC patients. The incidence of EGFR gene mutations in examined population was similar to those reported in other Caucasian populations.