Role of shear-wave and strain elastography to differentiate malignant vs benign subpleural lung lesions.

Elastosonography is a non-invasive diagnostic method to evaluate tissue stiffness. The aim of our study was to demonstrate the applicability and efficacy of elastosonography to differentiate benign vs malignant subpleural lung lesions compared to clinical, radiological and histological findings.We performed both strain and shear wave velocity (SWV) elastosonography on subpleural lung lesions.

Not all abolished lung sliding are pneumothorax: the case of a particular lung atelectasis.

Introduction: Lung ultrasound (LUS) is expanding from the field of emergency medicine, also to the pneumological specialist field, becoming part of the diagnostic procedure of lung consolidation.

Case Presentation: A 78-year-old male was admitted to our emergency department for exertional dyspnea. LUS was performed, thus showing at right hemitorax air interface, A lines pattern, pleural sliding abolished on the whole hemitorax, thus suggesting a pneumothorax, but no evidence of lung point.

Usefulness of Medical Thoracoscopy in the Management of Pleural Effusion Caused by Chronic Renal Failure.

Introduction: Although pleural effusion (PE) can be caused by several pathologies like congestive heart failure, infections, malignancies, and pulmonary embolism, it is also a common finding in chronic kidney disease (CKD). Diagnostic thoracentesis is of limited value in the differential diagnosis, and the role of more invasive investigations like medical thoracoscopy (MT) is still unclear.

Aim: To evaluate the usefulness of MT in unexplained PE in CKD.

An unusual thoracic localizations of Erdheim- Chester disease: A case report.

Erdheim- Chester disease is a rare non- Langerhans cell histiocytosis that usually involves the bones, heart, central nervous system, retroperitoneum, eyes, kidneys, skin and adrenals. Lungs are affected in up to one-half cases; at CT scan various patterns are described: interstitial disease, consolidations, micronodules and microcysts, with or without pleural involvement. We presented a case of a 59 year-old man with unusual intrathoracic manifestation of Erdheim- Chester disease.

Preoperative pulmonary rehabilitation in patients undergoing lung resection for non-small cell lung cancer.

Background: The impact of short-term preoperative pulmonary rehabilitation on exercise capacity of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease undergoing lobectomy for non-small cell lung cancer is evaluated.

Methods: A prospective observational study was designed. Inclusion criteria consisted of an indication to lung resection because of a clinical stage I or II non-small cell lung cancer and a chronic obstructive disease on preoperative pulmonary function test.