Management of CPAP Follow-up by Telemonitoring in Obstructive Sleep Apnea: The PROTEUS Project.

Purpose: CPAP is the standard treatment for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), but as many as 50% of patients discontinue its use, within three years. The PROTEUS project aims to enhance CPAP adherence through telemonitoring.

Patients And Methods: OSA patients undergoing CPAP treatment since July 2018, had an in-person reassessment after three months, followed by quarterly telemonitoring by providers, who intervened in cases of poor adherence (less than 4 h·night or less than 70% of days), excessive mask leakage, or elevated residual apnea-hypopnea index (rAHI).

Long-Term Eosinophil Depletion: A Real-World Perspective on the Safety and Durability of Benralizumab Treatment in Severe Eosinophilic Asthma.

Benralizumab is an anti-IL-5 receptor alpha monoclonal antibody that induces the near-complete depletion of eosinophils. This study aimed to evaluate the long-term safety and effectiveness of benralizumab in patients with severe eosinophilic asthma (SEA) over an extended 48-month follow-up period, offering one of the longest real-world perspectives available. This was a single-arm, retrospective, observational, multicenter study involving 123 SEA patients treated with benralizumab at a dosage of 30 mg every 4 weeks for the first 3 doses and then every 8 weeks.

Sustained Effectiveness of Benralizumab in Naïve and Biologics-Experienced Severe Eosinophilic Asthma Patients: Results from the ANANKE Study.

Purpose: Severe eosinophilic asthma (SEA) patients often present overlapping inflammatory features rendering them eligible for multiple biologic therapies; switching biologic treatment is a strategy adopted to optimize asthma control when patients show partial or no response to previous biologics.

Patients And Methods: ANANKE is a retrospective, multicenter Italian study (NCT04272463). Here, we outline the characteristics and long-term clinical outcomes in naïve-to-biologics and biologics-experienced patients treated with benralizumab for up to 96 weeks.

Tracheal atypical solitary carcinoid in a so-called "difficult asthma": a diagnostic challenge.

This report describes the case of a 46-year-old non-smoker housewife. She presented to our attention with a diagnosis of "difficult asthma" from another center in the previous two years. She had no allergies and had not been exposed to an excessive amount of noxious stimuli.

Long-term effectiveness of benralizumab in severe eosinophilic asthma patients treated for 96-weeks: data from the ANANKE study.

Background: The efficacy of benralizumab has been broadly demonstrated in severe eosinophilic asthma (SEA), but only few real-life studies evaluated its long-term effects. Here we present novel data from the ANANKE study in which a large cohort of SEA patients was treated for up to 96 weeks.

Methods: ANANKE (NCT04272463) is an observational retrospective Italian study investigating the key characteristics of SEA patients (collected during the 12 months prior to benralizumab initiation) and the clinical outcomes during benralizumab treatment (annual exacerbation rate [AER], lung function, asthma control, OCS use, healthcare resource utilization).

Comparison between clinical trials and real-world evidence studies on biologics for severe asthma.

In recent years, the more widespread availability of biological drugs with specific mechanisms of action has led to significant breakthroughs in the management of severe asthma. Over time, numerous randomised clinical trials have been conducted to evaluate the efficacy and safety of these biologics and define the eligibility criteria of patients suitable for various therapeutic options. These studies were conducted under controlled conditions not always applicable to real life.

Clinical Features and Efficacy of Benralizumab in Patients with Blood Eosinophil Count Between 300 and 450 Cells/mm: A Post Hoc Analysis from the ANANKE Study.

Purpose: Benralizumab effectively reduces severe eosinophilic asthma (SEA) exacerbations in patients with a wide range of baseline blood eosinophil count (BEC). Patients included in real-world studies are often characterized by high mean/median BEC, while patients with BEC close to 300 cells/mm are poorly represented. This post hoc analysis from the Italian study ANANKE aims to define the clinical features and corroborate the efficacy of benralizumab in real world in the BEC 300-450 cells/mm subset of patients.

Prolonged higher dose methylprednisolone conventional dexamethasone in COVID-19 pneumonia: a randomised controlled trial (MEDEAS).

Background: Dysregulated systemic inflammation is the primary driver of mortality in severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pneumonia. Current guidelines favour a 7-10-day course of any glucocorticoid equivalent to dexamethasone 6 mg daily. A comparative randomised controlled trial (RCT) with a higher dose and a longer duration of intervention was lacking.

Switching from one biologic to benralizumab in patients with severe eosinophilic asthma: An ANANKE study analysis.

Background: Severe asthma is a heterogeneous inflammatory disease driven by eosinophilic inflammation in the majority of cases. Despite biologic therapy patients may still be sub-optimally controlled, and the choice of the best biologic is a matter of debate. Indeed, switching between biologics is common, but no official guidelines are available and real-world data are limited.

Benralizumab in Patients With Severe Eosinophilic Asthma With and Without Chronic Rhinosinusitis With Nasal Polyps: An ANANKE Study Analysis.

Background: Severe eosinophilic asthma (SEA) in the presence of chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps (CRSwNP) indicates the presence of a more extensive eosinophilic inflammation. analyses from a pivotal clinical trial have demonstrated the enhanced efficacy of benralizumab on asthma outcomes in patients with CRSwNP as a comorbidity.

Methods: This is a analysis from the Italian multi-center observational retrospective ANANKE study.

ChAracterization of ItaliaN severe uncontrolled Asthmatic patieNts Key features when receiving Benralizumab in a real-life setting: the observational rEtrospective ANANKE study.

Background: Data from phase 3 trials have demonstrated the efficacy and safety of benralizumab in patients with severe eosinophilic asthma (SEA). We conducted a real-world study examining the baseline characteristics of a large SEA population treated with benralizumab in clinical practice and assessed therapy effectiveness.

Methods: ANANKE is an Italian multi-center, retrospective cohort study including consecutive SEA patients who had started benralizumab therapy ≥ 3 months before enrolment (between December 2019 and July 2020), in a real-world setting.

Chest radiography findings of COVID-19 pneumonia: a specific pattern for a confident differential diagnosis.

Background: Chest radiography (CR) patterns for the diagnosis of COVID-19 have been established. However, they were not ideated comparing CR features with those of other pulmonary diseases.

Purpose: To create the most accurate COVID-19 pneumonia pattern comparing CR findings of COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 pulmonary diseases and to test the model against the British Society of Thoracic Imaging (BSTI) criteria.

Pneumothorax and/or Pneumomediastinum Worsens the Prognosis of COVID-19 Patients with Severe Acute Respiratory Failure: A Multicenter Retrospective Case-Control Study in the North-East of Italy.

Unlabelled: Pneumothorax (PNX) and pneumomediastinum (PNM) are potential complications of COVID-19, but their influence on patients' outcomes remains unclear. The aim of the study was to assess incidence, risk factors, and outcomes of severe COVID-19 complicated with PNX/PNM.

Methods: A retrospective multicenter case-control analysis was conducted in COVID-19 patients admitted for respiratory failure in intermediate care units of the Treviso area, Italy, from March 2020 to April 2021.

Risk Factors for Development and Severity of COVID-19 in COPD Patients.

The impact that COVID-19 could have on patients with COPD is a real concern. In this study we evaluated, in a cohort of longitudinally followed COPD subjects, the incidence of COVID-19, seeking for possible risk factors and prognostic factors predicting the clinical outcome. In our cohort of 370 patients (followed for 5.

COVID-19 Pneumonia and ROX index: Time to set a new threshold for patients admitted outside the ICU.

Unlabelled: High flow nasal cannula (HFNC) is used to treat acute hypoxemic respiratory failure (AHRF) even outside the ICU and the ROX index (pulse oximetry/fraction of inspired oxygen/respiratory rate) may predict HFNC failure.

Objective: The purpose of this investigation was therefore to verify whether the ROX index is an accurate predictor of HFNC failure for COVID-19 patients treated outside the intensive care unit (ICU) and to evaluate the validity of the previously suggested threshold.

Design: Multicenter study.

Club Cell Loss as a Feature of Bronchiolization in ILD.

Distal airway metaplasia may precede honeycombing in progressive fibrosing interstitial lung disease (ILD). The SCGB1A1 bronchiolar-specific club cell may play a role in this aberrant regenerative process. To assess the presence of club cells in the small airways of patients suffering from ILD.

Prolonged Low-Dose Methylprednisolone in Patients With Severe COVID-19 Pneumonia.

Background: In hospitalized patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pneumonia, progression to acute respiratory failure requiring invasive mechanical ventilation (MV) is associated with significant morbidity and mortality. Severe dysregulated systemic inflammation is the putative mechanism. We hypothesize that early prolonged methylprednisolone (MP) treatment could accelerate disease resolution, decreasing the need for intensive care unit (ICU) admission and mortality.

Covid-19 and the role of smoking: the protocol of the multicentric prospective study COSMO-IT (COvid19 and SMOking in ITaly).

The emergency caused by Covid-19 pandemic raised interest in studying lifestyles and comorbidities as important determinants of poor Covid-19 prognosis. Data on tobacco smoking, alcohol consumption and obesity are still limited, while no data are available on the role of e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products (HTP). To clarify the role of tobacco smoking and other lifestyle habits on COVID-19 severity and progression, we designed a longitudinal observational study titled COvid19 and SMOking in ITaly (COSMO-IT).

Use of RAAS Inhibitors and Risk of Clinical Deterioration in COVID-19: Results From an Italian Cohort of 133 Hypertensives.

Background: The effect of chronic use of renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system (RAAS) inhibitors on the severity of COVID-19 infection is still unclear in patients with hypertension. We aimed to investigate the association between chronic use of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEIs) or angiotensin II receptor blockers (ARBs) and COVID-19-related outcomes in hypertensive patients.

Methods: A single-center study was conducted on 133 consecutive hypertensive subjects presenting to the emergency department with acute respiratory symptoms and/or fever who were diagnosed with COVID-19 infection between 9 and 31 March 2020.

COVID-19 pneumonia in lung transplant recipients: Report of 2 cases.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has been declared pandemic since March 2020. In Europe, Italy was the first nation affected by this infection. We report anamnestic data, clinical features, and therapeutic management of 2 lung transplant recipients with confirmed COVID-19 pneumonia.

Suspected pleuroparenchymal fibroelastosis relapse after lung transplantation: a case report and literature review.

Pleuroparenchymal fibroelastosis (PPFE) is a very rare lung disease characterized by dense fibrous thickening of the visceral pleura and intraalveolar fibrosis containing prominent elastosis, with typical upper lobe predominance. PPFE usually shows progressive restrictive ventilatory impairment refractory to medical treatment; bilateral lung transplantation currently remains the only available therapeutic option. In this report, we describe a case of suspected PPFE relapse after lung transplantation that, to our knowledge, has never been described in the medical literature.