Solitary fibrous tumour of the pleura: surgical treatment.

Objective: Solitary fibrous tumours (SFT) of the pleura are rare tumours originated from the mesenchimal tissue underlying the mesothelial layer of the pleura. This tumours present unpredictable clinical course probably related to their histological and morphological characteristics.

Methods: Twenty-one patients affected by SFT of the pleura were referred to us for surgical resection from September 1984 to April 2000.

Analysis of 158 frontal sinus fractures: current surgical management and complications.

A retrospective analysis is presented of 158 patients who sustained frontal sinus fractures and were subsequently treated in the Division of Maxillofacial Surgery, University of Turin, from 1987 to 1998. The fractures were subdivided according to involvement of anterior and posterior walls, and of the nasofrontal duct. While treatment involving only the anterior wall is well standardized and without complications, management of anterior plus posterior wall fractures or involving the nasofrontal duct is still controversial.

Videothoracoscopic lung biopsy in the diagnosis of interstitial lung disease.

Objective: Interstitial lung diseases (ILD) require lung biopsy for the diagnosis in more than 30% of patients. Open lung biopsy (OLB) was generally considered the most reliable method of biopsy and tissue diagnosis. This study tests the diagnostic accuracy and safety of the videothoracoscopic lung biopsy (VTLB) in the diagnosis of ILD.

Strategic issues in the design and interpretation of studies on metabolic polymorphisms and cancer.

This chapter describes in a simple way the most important issues of epidemiological design, with emphasis on studies on metabolic polymorphisms. Different options are offered to the researcher who approaches a molecular epidemiology study. Case-control studies and cohort studies have different and sometimes complementary advantages and disadvantages.

Use of modified functional assays for activated protein C resistance in patients with basally prolonged aPTT.

Inherited resistance to activated protein C (APCr) is currently recognized as the most prevalent cause underlying venous thrombophilia, with an estimated prevalence around 20% in thrombotic patients and around 1.8-7% in the general population. A correct laboratory diagnosis of APCr is therefore essential.