Bronchial Progenitor Cells in Obstructive and Neoplastic Lung Disease: A Pilot Study.

The alteration of progenitor/stem cells present in the airway epithelium has been observed in patients with COPD. Smoking exposure induces remodeling patterns in bronchial progenitor cells (BPCs), encompassing squamous metaplasia, hyperplasia of basal and of mucus-secreting cells, and the depletion of ciliated and non-mucous secretory cells. Our aim was to assess the expression of p63 and vimentin as potential markers of airway remodeling and the regulation of stem cell populations in obstructive and neoplastic lung disease patients.

Lung Involvement in Patients with Ulcerative Colitis: Relationship between Exhaled Nitric Oxide and Lung Function.

Ulcerative colitis (UC) is characterized by immune system dysregulation with frequent extraintestinal manifestations, including airway involvement. A reduction in CO diffusing capacity and functional alterations in small airways have been described. An extended analysis of fractional exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO) may distinguish the sites of production, and the presence of small airway inflammation may be a useful, non-invasive marker for patient follow-up.

Estimate of the prevalence of subjects with chronic diseases in a province of Northern Italy: a retrospective study based on administrative databases.

Objective: To find a definition of chronic disease based on literature review and to estimate the population-based prevalence rate of chronicity in a province in Northern Italy.

Design: Retrospective observational study based on administrative databases.

Data Sources/setting: Archives of the National Health Service that contain demographic and administrative information linked with the archives of ticket exemptions (2000-2019), the hospital discharge and drug prescriptions (2016-2019).

Pneumothorax in hospitalized COVID-19 patients with severe respiratory failure: Risk factors and outcome.

PNX was described as an uncommon complication in COVID-19 patients but clinical risk predictors and the potential role in patient's outcome are still unclear. We assessed prevalence, risk predictors and mortality of PNX in hospitalized COVID- 19 with severe respiratory failure performing a retrospective observational analysis of 184 patients admitted to our COVID-19 Respiratory Unit in Vercelli from October 2020 to March 2021. We compared patients with and without PNX reporting prevalence, clinical and radiological features, comorbidities, and outcomes.

Evaluation of the risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection and hospitalization in vaccinated and previously infected subjects based on real world data.

The objective of our study was to determine the joint protective effect of a previous SARS-CoV-2 infection and vaccination on the risk of a new infection and hospitalization. Two case-control studies nested in a cohort of COVID-19 patients cared for by the Local Health Unit (LHU) of Vercelli, Italy, were performed, one to estimate the risk of infection and the second to estimate the risk of hospitalization. Each new infection and hospitalization was matched with up to 4 disease-free subjects who were the same age, sex and index date (i.