Accuracy of positive airway pressure titration through telemonitoring of auto-adjusting positive airway pressure device connected to a pulse oximetry in patients with obstructive sleep apnea.

Purpose: In COVID-19 era, all forms of access of patients to the sleep units should be reduced as much as possible when implementing telemedicine. In the field of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) therapy with positive airway pressure (PAP) devices, telemedicine includes the use of built-in software (BIS) and storage of PAPs and remote-controlled data (BISrc data) that are processed and transmitted daily to sleep units. We compared two methods of evaluating the final residual severity of OSA patients in home PAP titration: BISrc data versus nocturnal portable multichannel monitoring (PM) data in PAP (reference method) and to verify whether the efficacy PAP therapy guided by BISrc data was clinically adequate.

Asthma management among different specialists: results from a national Italian survey.

In Europe more than 50% of asthmatic treated patients have a not well-controlled asthma. The present survey aims at investigating how different specialists approach asthmatic patients. A web anonymous questionnaire was randomly administered to 604 General Practitioners (GPs), 241 Pneumologists and 131 Allergists.

Effects of pulmonary rehabilitation on lung function in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: the FIRST study.

Background: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) causes an impairment of respiratory function, well reflected by the progressive decrease in forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1). The only interventions able to slow down the FEV1 decline are smoking cessation and drug treatment. Pulmonary rehabilitation (PR), is claimed to improve exercise tolerance, symptoms and quality of life, but its effects on lung function have been scantly investigated.

Acute effects of indacaterol on lung hyperinflation in moderate COPD: a comparison with tiotropium.

Background: Evidence has been provided that high-dose indacaterol (300 μg) can reduce lung hyperinflation in moderate-to-severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

Aim: To study whether low-dose indacaterol (150 μg) also reduces lung hyperinflation in comparison with the recommended dose of tiotropium (18 μg) in moderate COPD.

Methods: This was a multicenter, randomized, blinded, 3-period cross-over, placebo-controlled study.