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Pulmonary hypertension (PH) is a pathophysiological disorder, defined by a mean pulmonary arterial pressure (mPAP) > 20 mmHg at rest, as assessed by right heart catheterization (RHC). PH is not a specific disease, as it may be observed in multiple clinical conditions and may complicate a variety of thoracic diseases. Conditions associated with the risk of developing PH are categorized into five different groups, according to similar clinical presentations, pathological findings, hemodynamic characteristics, and treatment strategy. Most chronic lung diseases that may be complicated by PH belong to group 3 (interstitial lung diseases, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, combined pulmonary fibrosis, and emphysema) and are associated with the lowest overall survival among all groups. However, some of the chronic pulmonary diseases may develop PH with unclear/multifactorial mechanisms and are included in group 5 PH (sarcoidosis, pulmonary Langerhans' cell histiocytosis, and neurofibromatosis type 1). This paper focuses on PH associated with chronic lung diseases, in which radiological imaging-particularly computed tomography (CT)-plays a crucial role in diagnosis and classification. Radiologists should become familiar with the hemodynamical, physiological, and radiological aspects of PH and chronic lung diseases in patients at risk of developing PH, whose prognosis and treatment depend on the underlying disease.

Sarcoidosis is a systemic granulomatous disease affecting various organs, and the lungs are the most commonly involved. According to guidelines, diagnosis relies on a consistent clinical picture, histological demonstration of non-caseating granulomas, and exclusion of other diseases with similar histological or clinical picture. Nevertheless, chest imaging plays an important role in both diagnostic assessment, allowing to avoid biopsy in some situations, and prognostic evaluation. Despite the demonstrated lower sensitivity of chest X-ray (CXR) in the evaluation of chest findings compared to high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT), CXR still retains a pivotal role in both diagnostic and prognostic assessment in sarcoidosis. Moreover, despite the huge progress made in the field of radiation dose reduction, chest magnetic resonance (MR), and quantitative imaging, very little research has focused on their application in sarcoidosis. In this review, we aim to describe the latest novelties in diagnostic and prognostic assessment of thoracic sarcoidosis and to identify the fields of research that require investigation.

Aim: Microbial colonization of the mouth in children with cleft lip and palate (CLP) is a very important issue to be known and monitored by clinicians. In fact, the obturator plates used in CLP patients, similarly to dentures, are predisposed to the accumulation of aerobic and anaerobic microorganisms, which may lead to alteration of the normal flora either of the mouth and of the nose. The aim of this study is to understand the microbial colonization that can develop on the surface of orthopedic devices. Method: Repeated samples from the internal (IS) and external surfaces (ES) of nasoalveolar moulding devices and maxillary gingivas (MG) of a unilateral cleft lip and palate child were taken with a sterile cotton swab, transferred into 1 ml of transport medium and immediately sent to the microbiology laboratory. Aliquots of 0.1 ml samples were 10-fold serially diluted and plated into selected media for Gram positive and Gram negative bacteria and for yeasts; after incubation at 36-37 °C for 48 hours, typical colonies were enumerated and calculated as cfu/ml. Matrixassisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF-SM)) for microbial identification was then performed. The samples were taken five times, once a month, and gingival swabs were also taken from parents.Results: Oral sample swabs confirmed the presence of a variety of colonizers: Corynebacterium amycolatum, Staphylococcus epidermidis, Enterococcus faecalis, Enterobacter cloacae, Stenotrophomonas maltophilia, Streptococcus gordonii, Streptococcus salivarius, Streptococcus mitis, Streptococcus parasanguis, Stafilococcus epidermidis, Candida lusitanie, Stafilococcus aureus. The most prevalent microorganisms were Enterobacter cloacae, Streptococcus mitis and Candida lusitaniae; sequential samples revealed an increasing variety of microbial species. It is interesting to note that the bacteria isolated from the MG of the child were the same of those found in the oral cavity swabs taken from the fat