Search

Case Presentation: A 41-year-old man who currently smokes with previous sporadic use of cocaine and cannabinoids was admitted at the hospital suffering from hemoptysis which had developed 4 days before. The patient was on anticoagulant therapy with rivaroxaban due to paroxysmal atrial fibrillation diagnosed in 2018, for which he had undergone pulmonary vein electrical isolation by radiofrequency and ablation of cavotricuspid isthmus in January 2019. The procedure was completed in July 2019. Treatment with flecainide was introduced due to recurrences of atrial fibrillation. In February 2021, a new attempt at ablation was performed by electrical isolation of the left atrial posterior wall. The latest cardiologic checkup documented an echocardiographic framework of mild left atrial dilatation and normal-sized right ventricle with longitudinal shortening index at the lower limits, and a recurrence of asymptomatic atrial fibrillation at Holter ECG (March 2022)., Competing Interests: Financial/Nonfinancial Disclosures None declared., (Copyright © 2024 American College of Chest Physicians. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

A 64-year-old woman presented to Our Department with 2 weeks history of fever and cough. Through a series of radiological and invasive diagnostic studies we finally reach an unexpected diagnosis of Tsukamurella pneumonia ; Diagnosing an ILD is a dynamic process, and that is the reason why complex cases discussed in a multidisciplinary team may need to be reconsidered in light of evolution of the disease and the results of the performed exams with a flexible approach. Tsukamurella spp. is an obligate aerobic, Gram-positive, weakly acid-fast, non-motile bacillus that belongs to the order Actinomycetales. Pneumonia caused by Tsukamurella is exceedingly rare, and only few cases are reported in the literature. Our aim is to evidence the paramount importance of Multidisciplinary team discussion in deciding the most appropriate diagnostic is of and therapeutical strategy., Competing Interests: All authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest., (© 2024 The Authors.)

Pulmonary hypertension (PH) is not considered a known risk factor for non-tuberculous mycobacterial lung disease (NTM-LD), despite that many studies state that incidence is almost equal to other chronic lung diseases. Current standard of care for NTM-LD consists in multidrug antibiotic regimen for several months. However, it results in negative culture conversion in a minority of cases. Therefore, when feasible an adjuvant surgical approach is indicated. In this case report we highlight the importance of multidisciplinary team discussion in providing the best therapeutic strategy in presence of significant comorbidities like chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (© 2024 The Authors.)

Specific molecular and inflammatory endotypes have been identified for chronic respiratory disorders, including asthma and COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease). These endotypes correspond with clinical aspects of disease, enabling targeted medicines to address certain pathophysiologic pathways, often referred to as "precision medicine". With respect to bronchiectasis, many comorbidities and underlying causes have been identified. Inflammatory endotypes have also been widely studied and reported. Additionally, several genes have been shown to affect disease progression. However, the lack of a clear classification has also hampered our understanding of the disease's natural course. The aim of this review is, thus, to summarize the current knowledge on biomarkers and actionable targets of this complex pathologic condition and to point out unmet needs, which are required in the design of effective diagnostic and therapeutic trials.

Sarcoidosis is a multisystem disease, which is diagnosed on a compatible clinical presentation, non-necrotizing granulomatous inflammation in one or more tissue samples, and exclusion of alternative causes of granulomatous disease. Considering its heterogeneity, numerous aspects of the disease remain to be elucidated. In this context, the identification and integration of biomarkers may hold significance in clinical practice, aiding in appropriate selection of patients for targeted clinical trials. This work aims to discuss and analyze how validated biomarkers are currently integrated in disease category definitions. Future studies are mandatory to unravel the diverse contributions of genetics, socioeconomic status, environmental exposures, and other sociodemographic variables to disease severity and phenotypic presentation. Furthermore, the implementation of transcriptomics, multidisciplinary approaches, and consideration of patients' perspectives, reporting innovative insights, could be pivotal for a better understanding of disease pathogenesis and the optimization of clinical assistance.

Interstitial lung diseases (ILDs) are a heterogeneous group of pulmonary disorders characterized by variable degrees of inflammation, interstitial thickening, and fibrosis leading to distortion of the pulmonary architecture and gas exchange impairment. Among them, idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) displays the worst prognosis. The only therapeutic options consist of the two antifibrotic drugs, pirfenidone and nintedanib, which limit fibrosis progression but do not reverse the lung damage. The shift of the pathogenetic paradigm from inflammatory disease to epithelium-derived disease has definitively established the primary role of type II alveolar cells, which lose their epithelial phenotype and acquire a mesenchymal phenotype with production of collagen and extracellular matrix (EMC) deposition. Some predisposing environmental and genetic factors (e.g., smoke, pollution, gastroesophageal reflux, variants of telomere and surfactant genes) leading to accelerated senescence set a pro-fibrogentic microenvironment and contribute to the loss of regenerative properties of type II epithelial cells in response to pathogenic noxae. This review provides a complete overview of the different pathogenetic mechanisms leading to the development of IPF. Then, we summarize the currently approved therapies and the main clinical trials ongoing. Finally, we explore the potentialities offered by agents not only interfering with the processes of fibrosis but also restoring the physiological properties of alveolar regeneration, with a particular focus on potentialities and concerns about cell therapies based on mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), whose anti-inflammatory and immunomodulant properties have been exploited in other fibrotic diseases, such as graft versus host disease (GVHD) and COVID-19-related ARDS.

Pleural mesothelioma is an aggressive disease with diffuse nature, low median survival, and prolonged latency presenting difficulty in prognosis, diagnosis, and treatment. Here, we review all these aspects to underline the progress being made in its investigation and to emphasize how much work remains to be carried out to improve prognosis and treatment.

Background: Growing evidence suggests that sublobar resections offer more favorable outcomes than lobectomy in early-stage lung cancer surgery. However, a percentage of cases that cannot be ignored develops disease recurrence irrespective of the surgery performed with curative intent. The goal of this work is thus to compare different surgical approaches, namely, lobectomy and segmentectomy (typical and atypical) to derive prognostic and predictive markers., Patients and Methods: Here we analyzed a cohort of 153 NSCLC patients in clinical stage TNM I who underwent pulmonary resection surgery with a mediastinal hilar lymphadenectomy from January 2017 to December 2021, with an average follow-up of 25.5 months. Partition analysis was also applied to the dataset to detect outcome predictors., Results: The results of this work showed similar OS between lobectomy and typical and atypical segmentectomy for patients with stage I NSCLC. In contrast, lobectomy was associated with a significant improvement in DFS compared with typical segmentectomy in stage IA, while in stage IB and overall, the two treatments were similar. Atypical segmentectomy showed the worst performance, especially in 3-year DFS. Quite unexpectedly, outcome predictor ranking analysis suggests a prominent role of smoking habits and respiratory function, irrespective of the tumor histotype and the patient's gender., Conclusions: Although the limited follow-up interval cannot allow conclusive remarks about prognosis, the results of this study suggest that both lung volumes and the degree of emphysema-related parenchymal damage are the strongest predictors of poor survival in lung cancer patients. Overall, these data point out that greater attention should be addressed to the therapeutic intervention for co-existing respiratory diseases to obtain optimal control of early lung cancer.

MPM has a uniquely poor somatic mutational landscape, mainly driven by environmental selective pressure. This feature has dramatically limited the development of effective treatment. However, genomic events are known to be associated with MPM progression, and specific genetic signatures emerge from the exceptional crosstalk between neoplastic cells and matrix components, among which one main area of focus is hypoxia. Here we discuss the novel therapeutic strategies focused on the exploitation of MPM genetic asset and its interconnection with the surrounding hypoxic microenvironment as well as transcript products and microvesicles representing both an insight into the pathogenesis and promising actionable targets.

Ozone therapy can display a wide range of clinical beneficial effects, including antimicrobial, immune-stimulant, analgesic, anti-hypoxic actions. However, there is still a paucity of data regarding the ozone fungicide activity. Oral Candida is the most common fungal infection in the mouth among denture wearers and people with weakened immune systems. In the case of generalized candidiasis or immunocompromised patients, systemic therapy is needed, while localized infections are treated with topic medications. However, many Candida strains are resistant to antifungal drugs. The aim of this preliminary analysis is to evaluate the antimycotic efficacy of a new ozonided oil (GeliO 3 ), as a possible terapeutic alternative in local treatments of these infections, compared to chlorhexidine digluconate (Plak gel®). Chlorhexidine is a chemical synthesis disinfectant with a broad-spectrum antiseptic action, active against bacteria and fungi. Antimycotic activity was tested against the following four Candida species: C. albicans , C. parapsilosis , C. glabrata , C. tropicalis , through an agar diffusion method. No significant differences were found between the growth inhibition zone diameters of the ozonized gel and chlorhexidine. The results indicated that the ozonized gel may help to combat Candida infections. Moreover, useful applications could be used to counteract Candida colonization of endosseous implants.