Novel aspects in diagnostic approach to respiratory patients: is it the time for a new semiotics?

Medical approach to patients is a fundamental step to get the correct diagnosis. The aim of this paper is to analyze some aspects of the reasoning process inherent in medical diagnosis in our era. Pathologic s...

Authors: Gino Soldati, Andrea Smargiassi, Alberto A. Mariani and Riccardo Inchingolo

Erratum to: Recent advances in capsule-based dry powder inhaler technology

Authors: Federico Lavorini, Massimo Pistolesi and Omar S. Usmani

Instant velocity and consistency of emitted cloud change by the different levels of canister filling with Metered Dose Inhalers (MDIs), but not with Soft Mist Inhalers (SMIs): a bench study

Inhalation is the preferred route for respiratory drug delivery, but several factors contribute to the variability of the respirable dose fraction. Instant velocity and the dynamic characteristics of the dropl...

Authors: Roberto W. Dal Negro, Pietro Longo, Orestepaolo Villanis Ziani, Luca Bonadiman and Paola Turco

Erratum to: The evidence on tiotropium bromide in asthma: from the rationale to the bedside

Authors: Dejan Radovanovic, Pierachille Santus, Francesco Blasi and Marco Mantero

Recent advances in capsule-based dry powder inhaler technology

Pulmonary drug delivery is currently the focus of accelerated research and development because of the potential to produce maximum therapeutic benefit to patients by directly targeting drug to the site of path...

Authors: Federico Lavorini, Massimo Pistolesi and Omar S. Usmani

Using PaCO2 values to grade obesity-hypoventilation syndrome severity: a retrospective study

To date, an important aspect that has still not been clarified is the assessment of OHS severity. The purpose of this retrospective study was to evaluate whether grading OHS severity according to PaCO₂ values may...

Authors: Mario Francesco Damiani, Vito Antonio Falcone, Pierluigi Carratù, Cristina Scoditti, Elioda Bega, Silvano Dragonieri, Alfredo Scoditti and Onofrio Resta

Clinico- pathologic presentation of hypersensitivity pneumonitis in Egyptian patients: a multidisciplinary study

Hypersensitivity pneumonitis (HP) is a common diffuse parenchymal lung disease in Egypt which can be difficult to recognize due to the dynamic symptoms & associated environmental factors.

Authors: Dalia Abd El-Kareem, Yosri M. Akl, Gina A. Nakhla, Ali A. Elhindawi and Mahmoud A. Eltorky

The evidence on tiotropium bromide in asthma: from the rationale to the bedside

Severe and poorly controlled asthma still accounts for a great portion of the patients affected. Disease control and future risk management have been identified by international guidelines as the main goals in...

Authors: Dejan Radovanovic, Pierachille Santus, Francesco Blasi and Marco Mantero

Tele-medicine in respiratory diseases

Information and Communication Technologies applied to health care and advances in sensor and data transmission technology allowed tele-medicine based programs of care also for patients with respiratory diseases.

Authors: Nicolino Ambrosino, Dewi Nurul Makhabah and Yusup Subagio Sutanto

Longitudinal assessment of bleomycin-induced lung fibrosis by Micro-CT correlates with histological evaluation in mice

The intratracheal instillation of bleomycin in mice induces early damage to alveolar epithelial cells and development of inflammation followed by fibrotic tissue changes and represents the most widely used mod...

Authors: Francesca Ruscitti, Francesca Ravanetti, Jeroen Essers, Yanto Ridwan, Sasha Belenkov, Wim Vos, Francisca Ferreira, Alex KleinJan, Paula van Heijningen, Cedric Van Holsbeke, Antonio Cacchioli, Gino Villetti and Franco Fabio Stellari

A reappraisal of the mucoactive activity and clinical efficacy of bromhexine

Since its introduction to the market in 1963, bromhexine, an over-the-counter drug, has been investigated for its activity in animal models and in humans with diverse respiratory conditions. Bromhexine is a de...

Authors: Alessandro Zanasi, Massimiliano Mazzolini and Ahmad Kantar

Characteristics of an optimized patient information material for elderly patients with obstructive pulmonary diseases based on patients’ and experts’ assessment

Life-long regular use of drugs is necessary in chronic diseases like asthma and COPD. There are several methods to improve adherence including patient information and education; however, their effectiveness on...

Authors: Gábor Tomisa, Alpár Horváth, Brigitta Dombai and Lilla Tamási

Ventilator associated pneumonia or ventilator induced pneumonia

Ventilator associated pneumonia currently in vogue seems to have some pitfalls as far as the nomenclature is concerned and thus it imparts an erroneous impression to the reader. As the driving force is in fact...

Authors: Zahid Hussain Khan, Piero Ceriana and Claudio F. Donner

Each day is a new beginning

Authors: Francesco Blasi and Claudio M. Sanguinetti

The physiological basis and clinical significance of lung volume measurements

From a physiological standpoint, the lung volumes are either dynamic or static. Both subclasses are measured at different degrees of inspiration or expiration; however, dynamic lung volumes are characteristica...

Authors: Mohamed Faisal Lutfi

Once daily aerosolised tobramycin in adult patients with cystic fibrosis in the management of Pseudomonas aeruginosa chronic infection

It is estimated that about 60–70% of Cystic Fibrosis patients develop Pseudomonas aeruginosa chronic infection, with progressive loss of lung function, as well as increased antibiotic resistance and mortality.

Authors: Marco Mantero, Andrea Gramegna, Giovanna Pizzamiglio, Alice D’Adda, Paolo Tarsia and Francesco Blasi

Pulmonary arterial hypertension associated with interferon therapy: a population-based study

Isolated cases of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) with interferon α or β therapy have been reported, but no population-based estimates of the incidence of the disease after interferon exposure are availa...

Authors: Ravikanth Papani, Alexander G. Duarte, Yu-li Lin, Yong-Fang Kuo and Gulshan Sharma

Bibliometric analysis of worldwide publications on multi-, extensively, and totally drug – resistant tuberculosis (2006–2015)

The year 2015 marked the end of United Nations Millennium Development Goals which was aimed at halting and reversing worldwide tuberculosis (TB). The emergence of drug resistance is a major challenge for world...

Authors: Waleed M. Sweileh, Adham S. AbuTaha, Ansam F. Sawalha, Suleiman Al-Khalil, Samah W. Al-Jabi and Sa’ed H. Zyoud

Cost of persistent asthma in Italy

Asthma is a common disease of the airways with a significant burden for the society and for patients’ quality of life. The Social Impact of Respiratory Integrated Outcomes (SIRIO) study estimated a mean cost o...

Authors: Roberto W. Dal Negro, Chiara Distante, Luca Bonadiman, Paola Turco and Sergio Iannazzo

DNA damage and repair capacity in lymphocyte of chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases patients during physical exercise with oxygen supplementation

We hypothesized that the use of oxygen supplementation during aerobic exercise induces less DNA damage than exercise alone.

Authors: Andréa Lúcia Gonçalves da Silva, Thaís Evelyn Karnopp, Augusto Ferreira Weber, Cassia da Luz Goulart, Paloma de Borba Scheneiders, Dannuey Machado Cardoso, Lisiane Lisboa Carvalho, Joel Henrique Ellwanger, Lia Gonçalves Possuelo and Andréia Rosane de Moura Valim

Personality and unachieved treatment goals related to poor adherence to asthma medication in a newly developed adherence questionnaire – a population-based study

Health-care professionals have a responsibility to be attentive to patients’ adherence behavior but it could be difficult to identify poor adherence in the context of clinical practice. Assessment of personali...

Authors: Malin Axelsson, Linda Ekerljung, Bo Lundbäck and Jan Lötvall

Hemothorax following lung transplantation: incidence, risk factors, and effect on morbidity and mortality

Hemothorax after lung transplantation may result in increased post-operative morbidity and mortality. Risk factors for developing hemothorax and the outcomes of patients who develop hemothorax have not been we...

Authors: Aria Hong, Christopher S. King, A. Whitney Walter Brown, Shahzad Ahmad, Oksana A. Shlobin, Sandeep Khandhar, Linda Bogar, Anthony Rongione and Steven D. Nathan

Respiratory illness and air pollution from the steel industry: the case of Piquiá de Baixo, Brazil (Preliminary report)

This report is based on an independent study carried out by medical professionals of the Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Nazionale dei Tumori (National Cancer Institute) in Milan, Italy, and  aimed to assess the inc...

Authors: Carla Valenti, Paolo Pozzi, Alessandra Busia, Roberto Mazza, Paolo Bossi, Cinzia De Marco, Ario Alberto Ruprecht, Alessandro Borgini and Roberto Boffi

Efficacy of recombinant human soluble thrombomodulin for the treatment of acute exacerbation of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis: a single arm, non-randomized prospective clinical trial

Coagulation abnormalities are involved in the pathogenesis of acute exacerbations of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (AE-IPF). The administration of recombinant human soluble thrombomodulin (rhTM), which has bot...

Authors: Sho Hayakawa, Yasuo Matsuzawa, Tamako Irie, Hagino Rikitake, Noriaki Okada and Yasuo Suzuki

Cost comparison of asthma treatments in 12-week study: caution about matching and short observational follow-up

In the absence of randomisation, observational studies must take extra care to create treatment groups that are comparable in terms of key characteristics. Various matching methods exist which can create sound...

Authors: David B. Price, Job F. M. van Boven, Lisa M. Law, Alessandra Cifra and R. Brett McQueen