Local Anesthesia Thoracoscopy with versus without Midazolam: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Background: Medical thoracoscopy is the gold standard for the diagnosis of pleural diseases. To date, no consensus exists regarding the choice of sedative and analgesic agents in patients undergoing local anesthetic thoracoscopy (LAT), and questions are raised as to whether sedatives may add to respiratory side effects.

Objective: The aim of the study was to test the hypothesis that administration of midazolam associated with lidocaine versus lidocaine alone in patients with LAT adds to respiratory side effects.

Clinical long-term outcome of non-specific pleuritis (NSP) after surgical or medical thoracoscopy.

Background: Thoracoscopy, either "medical" or "surgical", is the gold standard to reveal the cause of pleural effusion by taking large biopsies. However, in some cases, the histology of pleural biopsies is inconclusive for a specific cause, describing a variable process of inflammation, encompassing for non-specific pleuritis (NSP). Questions are raised whether the surgical (or video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery, VATS) is doing better than the medical thoracoscopy (MT or pleuroscopy), but no direct comparison between the two techniques exist in the current bibliography.

Dabigatran can cause eosinophilic pleural and pericardial effusion with blood eosinophilia.

Eosinophilic pleural effusions (EPE) account for 5%-8% of all exudative pleural effusions. A pleural effusion is defined as eosinophilic if it contains 10% or more eosinophils. We present the case of a 70-year-old man with EPE, blood eosinophilia and pericardial effusion due to dabigatran, a novel anti-thrombin agent.

Bilateral empyema treated by sequential pleuroscopy.

Bilateral empyema associated to infectious pericarditis is an extremely rare, yet life-threatening condition. Pleuroscopy-medical thoracoscopy has proved its efficacy in series of patients with empyema. Yet, all reported cases treated by this technique, concerned patients with pleural infection located to a single hemithorax.

Increased expression of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGF-R) in patients with different forms of lung fibrosis.

Introduction: Emerging evidence supports the role of epidermal growth factor-receptor (EGFR) in fibrogenesis. The aim of our study was to investigate the expression profiles of EGFR in three forms of IIPs, including idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), cryptogenic organizing pneumonia (COP), and nonspecific interstitial pneumonia (NSIP).

Patients And Methods: Twenty newly diagnosed patients with IPF, 15 with COP, and 15 with NSIP (cellular, n = 4 and fibrotic, n = 11) were investigated.

Increased incidence of autoimmune markers in patients with combined pulmonary fibrosis and emphysema.

Background: Combined pulmonary fibrosis and emphysema (CPFE) is an umbrella term encompassing upper lobe emphysema and lower lobe pulmonary fibrosis with pathogenesis elusive. The aim of our study was to investigate the incidence of autoimmune markers in patients with CPFE.

Methods: In this multicenter study we retrospectively evaluated records from patients with CPFE (n=40) and IPF (n=60) without emphysema.

Expression of hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF)-1a-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)-inhibitory growth factor (ING)-4- axis in sarcoidosis patients.

Background: Sarcoidosis is a granulomatous disorder of unknown etiology. The term of immunoangiostasis has been addressed by various studies as potentially involved in the disease pathogenesis. The aim of the study was to investigate the expression of the master regulator of angiogenesis hypoxia inducible factor (HIF)-1a - vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)- inhibitor of growth factor 4-(ING4) - axis within sarcoid granuloma.

Effect and safety of mycophenolate mofetil or sodium in systemic sclerosis-associated interstitial lung disease: a meta-analysis.

Unlabelled: Background. Interstitial lung disease (ILD) is the most common complication of systemic sclerosis (SSc) with treatment ineffective.

Objective: The aim of this meta-analysis was to provide an estimate of the safety and efficacy profile of Mycophenolate Mofetil (MMF) or sodium (MMS) in SSc-ILD patients.