[Pharmacological and mechanical thrombolysis in submassive pulmonary embolism].

Thromboembolic pulmonary disease is challenging for physicians when diagnosed in acute, sub-acute and chronic clinical patients, not only due to its morbi-mortality, but also because of its complex therapeutic management. Severity of the acute condition and potential commitment of right ventricular systolic function require therapeutic strategies, sometimes combined, in order to change the disease's course, optimizing patient survival. Pharmacological and mechanical thrombolysis are useful therapeutic tools for patients suffering from severe acute pulmonary embolism.

Open lung biopsy for diffuse disease in patients with and without previously transplanted solid organs.

Background: Studies on whether surgical lung biopsy (SLB) modifies the treatment of patients with diffuse lung disease are conflicting, and information is limited on whether it alters treatment in solid-organ transplant recipients. Our objective was to determine and compare the rate of treatment change after SLB for diffuse lung disease in patients with and without a history of solid-organ transplantation.

Methods: Patients undergoing SLB for diffuse lung disease between March 2004 and March 2009 were identified.

[Role of prostacyclin and its derivatives in the treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension].

Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is defined as a group of diseases characterised by a progressive increase of pulmonary vascular resistance leading to right ventricular failure and death. A dysregulation of prostacyclin metabolic pathways has been demonstrated in patients with PAH and in experimental models. Recently, therapy with continuous intravenous prostacyclin (epoprostenol) has been shown to improve symptoms and prognosis in New York Heart Association (NYHA) functional class III and IV patients with different types of PAH.