Endobronchial Ultrasound/Transbronchial Needle Aspiration-Biopsy for Systematic Mediastinal lymph Node Staging of Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer in Patients Eligible for Surgery: A Prospective Multicenter Study.

Background: The treatment of lung cancer depends on histological and/or cytological evaluation of the mediastinal lymph nodes. Endobronchial ultrasound/transbronchial needle aspiration-biopsy (EBUS/TBNA-TBNB) is the only minimally invasive technique for a diagnostic exploration of the mediastinum. The aim of this study is to analyze the reliability of EBUS in the preoperative staging of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

COVID-19: A learning moment for patients and health professionals.

A hospital physician from Northern Italy describes his own experience as caregiver of COVID-19 patients and as a patient himself who required treatment in urgent care. From this experience he learned that an untapped reserve of human solidarity exists in a team of caregivers in the midst of a crisis where they find an unsuspected shared energy. He never would have believed to be able to work long hours patiently and without sleep until he was challenged by the demands of the COVID crisis.

Use of the hybrid room for thoracic surgery procedures: single-stage localization and removal of non-palpable nodules.

With the widespread availability of lung cancer screening programs, the number of small lung nodules requiring histological characterization has dramatically increased. Because computed tomography-guided fine-needle aspiration may frequently yield false-negative results, excisional biopsy using thoracoscopy is frequently required. Although thoracoscopic procedure has been known to be ideal for nodule resection, the identification of very small, subsolid and deep pulmonary nodules may still be challenging.

Prevalence of diabetes and diabetic macular edema in patients undergoing senile cataract surgery in Italy: The DIabetes and CATaract study.

Background: The purpose of this study is to determine the prevalence of diabetes and diabetic macular edema in patients undergoing senile cataract surgery in Italy.

Methods: It is a prospective, multicenter, cross-sectional study. Thirteen ophthalmic units equally distributed across the Italian territory have been involved in the study.