Predictors of survival in a group of patients with chronic airflow obstruction.

This article shows the results of a 10-year follow-up study conducted on a cohort of 870 patients affected by severe chronic airflow obstruction (CAO) on spirometric tests. The main aims of the study were to identify those factors associated with reduced survival in CAO patients and to evaluate the effectiveness of a care program on patients' survival. The analysis compared the survival time and causes of death between patients who showed adherence and patients who did not show adherence to the care program.

Non small cell lung cancer treatment with carboplatin and vindesine: a phase II study.

A phase II trial aiming to verify the effectiveness of a regimen including carboplatin and vindesine was performed. From November 1989 to September 1990, nineteen patients with advanced small cell lung cancer entered this study. Polychemotherapy treatment included: carboplatin 400 mg/sm, on day 1 and vindesine 3 mg/sm, on days 1 and 15, repeated every 4 weeks, as an outpatient regimen.

The differential diagnosis of primary lung cancer: inter-observer agreement and contribution of specific diagnostic procedures.

In order to investigate inter-observer variability in the differential diagnosis of primary lung cancer among women and the contribution of specific diagnostic procedures to this diagnosis, a group of 449 suspect cases of this disease was studied. Based on a standard dossier (including clinical data and the reports, if present, of radiology, bronchoscopy and histology) six different physicians independently judged, for each woman, at each diagnostic step, the presence of a primary lung cancer. A final consensus was organized in order to define the true cases.

[Fiber bronchoscopy in the diagnosis of bronchopulmonary tumors. Evaluation of the diagnostic efficacy of a cyto-histologic protocol in an ambulatory center].

An examination was made of the series of 439 lung tumours diagnosed ambulatorially at the Turin Social Health Dispensary to assess the diagnostic return from several techniques (cytology of the sputum, bronchial aspirate and brushing; histology on a biopsy specimen) used singly or in combination. It was also sought to determine the increase in sensitivity obtained by adding technique to each one other, and to establish the overall sensitivity of the protocol. It was found that biopsy was the most sensitive technique (91% in tumours visible by fibrobronchoscopy).