Case report: Complex left-carina resection: three-year single-center experience.

Carinal and tracheobronchial angle tumors have long been a contraindication for surgical removal; the technique of tracheal sleeve pneumonectomy makes it possible to approach this malignancy but still represents a surgical challenge. Left sleeve pneumonectomy is less common compared with right sleeve pneumonectomy and represents a minority component in the literature's case series due to the complexity of the anatomy. In addition, there is no standard for treatment strategy, and it must be assessed on a case-by-case basis.

Utility of bronchoalveolar lavage for COVID-19: a perspective from the Dragon consortium.

Diagnosing COVID-19 and treating its complications remains a challenge. This review reflects the perspective of some of the Dragon (IMI 2-call 21, #101005122) research consortium collaborators on the utility of bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) in COVID-19. BAL has been proposed as a potentially useful diagnostic tool to increase COVID-19 diagnosis sensitivity.

A pilot study on the use of the super dimension navigation system for optimal cryobiopsy location in interstitial lung disease diagnostics.

Background: Transbronchial cryobiopsies has become increasingly important in the diagnostic workup for interstitial lung diseases. The rate of complications and mortality are low compared to surgical lung biopsies, but the diagnostic yield is not as high. The reason for the lower diagnostic yield could in some cases be explained by biopsies taken too centrally or in less affected areas.

Competence in thoracic ultrasound.

Ultrasound examination is traditionally considered a safe and repeatable exam, but its use is highly operator-dependent. Because of this, lack of sufficient operator skills could lead to diagnostic errors and damage to patient safety related to unnecessary tests or interventional procedures. The indications for lung ultrasound include: diagnosis, quantification, and follow-up of different conditions for which acute respiratory failure or chest pain are the main clinical presentation.

Competence in pleural procedures.

Diseases of the pleura and pleural space are common and present a significant contribution to the workload of respiratory physicians, with most cases resulting from congestive heart failure, pneumonia, and cancer. Although the radiographic and ultrasonographic detection of pleural abnormalities may be obvious, the determination of a specific diagnosis can often represent a challenge. Invasive procedures such as pleural drainage, ultrasound/CT-guided pleural biopsy or medical thoracoscopy can be useful in determining specific diagnosis of pleural diseases.

Ultrasound Fissure Observation: Assessment of Lung by Pleural-Hub Affiliates.

Background: Lung ultrasound examination is becoming an even more important part of pulmonologists' clinical routine. As indicated in the literature, the coordinates of any findings on lung parenchyma are based on surface landmarks or conventional quadrants. In our experience we have noticed that lung fissures are clearly detectable as interruptions of the pleural line, but this has never been investigated previously.

Ultrasound-guided medical thoracoscopy in the absence of pleural effusion.

Background: Medical thoracoscopy (MT) is a diagnostic and therapeutic procedure that permits the study of the pleural space. The presence of pleural adhesions is the most important contraindication to performing MT. Lesions of the pleura in absence of pleural effusion are usually studied in video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) with preoperative ultrasound evaluation.

Effect of preceding inspiratory speed and end-inspiratory pause on forced expiratory manoeuvre in healthy subjects and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients.

Background: Lower peak expiratory flow (PEF) and forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV(1)) have been consistently found after slow inspiration with end-inspiratory pause (EIP).

Objectives: It was the aim of this study to establish the respective influence of the speed of preceding inspiration (SPI) and EIP on the parameters obtained from the following expiratory forced vital capacity (FVC) manoeuvre.

Methods: In 8 healthy subjects and 12 patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), a number of inspirations with different SPI and EIP were performed.

[Survival analysis of malignant mesothelioma treated in Brescia, northern Italy, 1982-2000].

Objective: To study the survival for malignant mesothelioma on general population cases over the 1982-2000 period and to evaluate the effectiveness of the new therapeutic protocols (intrapleural immunotherapy and mulitmodality therapy) to improve the prognosis on the group of selected hospital patients treated from 1996 to 2000.

Design: Survival analysis of malignant mesothelioma on the general population cases and survival analysis for the 1996-2000 period on the selected group of hospital patients.

Setting: The Malignant Mesothelioma Register of the Brescia Province (northern Italy) and Pulmonology Dept.