Life-threatening hypersensitivity pneumonitis induced by docetaxel (taxotere)

4 patients with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) treated with docetaxel developed life-threatening pneumonitis requiring mechanical ventilation. Docetaxel (30–60 mg m−2, according to a different protocol) was infused within one hour with standard premedications. One patient's pneumonitis occurred 5 days after the first dose of docetaxel, and that of the other 3 between the 2nd and 6th cycles. Based on the clinical course, radiological findings of an interstitial pneumonitis, and exclusion of other possible resultant causes, including metastatic cancer, radiation pulmonary injury, infection, or connective tissue disease, hypersensitivity pneumonitis was diagnosed. The patients were treated with hydrocortisone at 1200 mg per day or methylprednisolone at 240 mg per day. Although 3 of the 4 had a partial improvement in lung oxygenation, all patients’ conditions of hypersensitivity pneumonitis persisted and were complicated by other events, such as hospital-acquired infection and tension pneumothorax. The presence of this unusual hypersensitivity pneumonitis, which was so severe as to be life-threatening and refractory to high-dose corticosteroid therapy, should be taken into account during docetaxel treatment. © 2001 Cancer Research Campaig

Comparing online campaigning: The evolution of interactive campaigning from Royal to Obama to Hollande

© 2016 Macmillan Publishers Ltd.Studies of election campaigning from a comparative perspective have a long history; this study approaches the topic through a most-similar regime perspective to explore the ebb and flow of innovations in digital campaigning between presidential campaigns in France and the United States. The hype surrounding the 2008 Obama campaign overshadowed innovations in France the previous year, while the 2011 contest gained little serious academic attention. Using a well-established content analysis methodology the research explains the strategic design of the digital dimension of the campaigns of the leading candidates (Sarkozy and Royal in 2007, Obama and McCain in 2008, Hollande and Sarkozy in 2011, and Obama and Romney in 2012). The research then assesses the strategic contribution of each feature using schematics for understanding the flow of communication, as well as the strategy employed by each candidate. The key findings are that the campaigns are becoming more interactive, with the citizens increasingly more able to enter into conversations with the campaign teams, however interactivity when it happens is carefully controlled. Largely, however, there is a strong similarity masked by the sophistication of US contests. Despite the advances in communication technology and the social trends they have instigated, campaign communication remains top-down and digital technologies are used to gather data and push supporters towards activism than creating an inclusive space for the co-creation that cyberoptimists argued would revitalise the structures of democracy

Saúde, fatores sociais e suporte social dos idosos

É com grande gosto e redobrado interesse que aceitei o convite para comentar os aspetos relativos aos recursos sociais deste estudo denominado “Os muito idosos: estudo do envelhecimento em Coimbra avaliação integral do indivíduo integrado no seu meio”. Este convite é também uma oportunidade excelente para me familiarizar com os resultados do instrumento de recolha de dados (OARS) que estamos a aplicar no distrito de Bragança, no âmbito do compromisso Be Home Be Happy – Observatory for the Quality of Life of the Elderly Living in the Community, que integra a parceria europeia Innovation Partnership on Active and Healthy Ageing (EIP AHA). Os dados apresentados e o comentário aos mesmos incluídos no relatório do projeto são precisos e claros e ilustram bem as circunstâncias de vida dos idosos no nosso país na atualidade. Não é necessário repeti-los. Em vez disso, no meu comentário, darei realce os aspetos que considero mais relevantes dos resultados em “contraluz” com algumas daquelas que são as minhas principais preocupações com o sistema de suporte social dos idosos no nosso país, designadamente a situação demográfica e a capacidade de resposta dos sistemas formais e informais de apoio aos idosos. Antes nos pontos 1, 2 e 3 desenvolverei o quadro de análise teórico que, julgo, poderá potenciar a pertinência e relevância dos dados do estudo. O ponto 4 é dedicado ao meu comentário aos dados do estudo agora apresentado e o ponto 5 a apresentação de algumas sugestões para a intervenção na prática.Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT