An extremely rare case of adrenocortical cancer with cannon ball pulmonary metastasis.

Multiple pulmonary nodules on chest X-ray, known commonly as cannon ball secondaries, are the classical presentation of hematogenous dissemination of a malignant tumor to the lungs. This almost always indicates an advanced stage of the disease with a very grim outlook in terms of cure or survival. In this case report, we present a patient with very extensive cannon ball lung metastases due to adrenocortical carcinoma with a more favorable prognosis.

Sleep-related breathing disorders in acute respiratory failure assisted by non-invasive ventilatory treatment: utility of portable polysomnographic system.

In the majority of patients admitted to an Intensive Care Unit with acute respiratory failure (ARF), the aetiology for ARF is quite evident. In a minority of patients no obvious aetiology is apparent at presentation. In this group a previously unrecognized sleep-related breathing disorder (SRBD) may be the cause of the ARF.

The role of the expiratory phase in obstructive sleep apnoea.

The role of the expiratory phase in obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) is not well known. The aim of our study was to verify the contribution of expiratory narrowing to apnoea in a group of OSA patients by evaluating the effects of short-term treatment with continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP), intermittent positive pressure ventilation (IPPV) and bi-level positive airway pressure (BIPAP). We studied a selected group of 10 OSA patients whose therapeutic pressure level of CPAP was at least 10 cm H2O.

Prescription of nCPAP and nBIPAP in obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome: Italian experience in 105 subjects. A prospective two centre study.

Nasal continuous positive airway pressure (nCPAP) is the current treatment of obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome (OSAS). The indications of bilevel pressure support ventilation (BIPAP PSV) in OSAS patients remain controversial. The purpose of this investigation was to verify the frequency of prescription of BIPAP PSV in a group of OSAS patients when CPAP was ineffective or not tolerated during titration.

Autonomic dysfunction in normotensive awake subjects with obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome.

Obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome (OSAS) is associated with systemic arterial hypertension and cardiac arrhythmias and may lead to cardiovascular complications. Dysfunction of the autonomic nervous system (ANS) may play a role in the development of cardiovascular complications. The aim of this work was to study the ANS by spectral analysis of the heart rate variability (HRV) at rest and after stress (head-up tilt test) in a group of normotensive awake OSAS subjects.