A Subtle Presentation of Pharyngitis and Pneumonia: Lemierre Syndrome.

Lemierre syndrome (LS) is a rare condition with an estimated incidence of 1-10/1,000,000 per year defined as a complication of an oral and nasopharyngeal infection with secondary septicemia leading to septic emboli and internal jugular vein thrombosis. This syndrome was first described by Andre' Lemierre in 1936, before the development of antibiotics. In the preantibiotic era, it was a common condition and it was often characterized by a fatal course within 7-15 days with a mortality rate that could reach up to 80% of cases.

Safety and Diagnostic Yield of Medical Pleuroscopy (MP) Performed under Balanced Analgosedation by a Pneumological Team Compared to Video-Assisted Thoracic Surgery (VATS): A Retrospective Controlled Real-Life Study (TORAPO).

Introduction: Medical pleuroscopy (MP) is an invasive technique that provides access to the pleural space with a rigid or semi-rigid work instrument, allowing for visualization and the obtaining of bioptic pleural samples. Using pulmonologist-based analgosedation to perform pleuroscopy is still debated for safety reasons. The aim of this real-life study is to demonstrate the safety and diagnostic yield of MP performed under balanced analgosedation by a pulmonologist team with expertise in the management of critically ill patients in the respiratory intensive care unit (RICU) and interventional pulmonology unit as compared to video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS) performed by a thoracic surgeon team under anesthesiologist-based analgosedation.

Effects on Right Ventricular Function One Year after COVID-19-Related Pulmonary Embolism.

The aim of this study was to investigate the presence of subclinical cardiac dysfunction in recovered coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients, who were stratified according to a previous diagnosis of pulmonary embolism (PE) as a complication of COVID-19 pneumonia. Out of 68 patients with SARS-CoV-2 pneumonia followed up for one year, 44 patients (mean age 58.4 ± 13.

Aerosol delivery through high-flow nasal therapy: Technical issues and clinical benefits.

High-flow nasal cannula (HFNC) therapy is an oxygen delivery method particularly used in patients affected by hypoxemic respiratory failure. In comparison with the conventional "low flow" oxygen delivery systems, it showed several important clinical benefits. The possibility to nebulize drugs HFNC represents a desirable medical practice because it allows the administration of inhaled drugs, mostly bronchodilators, without the interruption or modification of the concomitant oxygen therapy.

Strategies Tackling Viral Replication and Inflammatory Pathways as Early Pharmacological Treatment for SARS-CoV-2 Infection: Any Potential Role for Ketoprofen Lysine Salt?

COVID-19 is an infective disease resulting in widespread respiratory and non-respiratory symptoms prompted by SARS-CoV-2 infection. Interaction between SARS-CoV-2 and host cell receptors prompts activation of pro-inflammatory pathways which are involved in epithelial and endothelial damage mechanisms even after viral clearance. Since inflammation has been recognized as a critical step in COVID-19, anti-inflammatory therapies, including both steroids and non-steroids as well as cytokine inhibitors, have been proposed.

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and lung cancer: targeting the complexity of the pharmacological interconnection.

Introduction: Many data already suggested that cancer and IPF are underlined by a number of common pathogenic biologic pathways. However, fewer data regards the interconnections, in terms of synergy or increased toxicities, of drugs used in cancer and IPF. Particularly, how the specific therapy influences the concurrent condition and prognostic factors of response in patients with both lung cancer and IPF are far to be clarified.

Mucolytic and Antioxidant Properties of Carbocysteine as a Strategy in COVID-19 Therapy.

SARS-CoV-2 infection leads to a heterogenous spectrum of clinical conditions ranging from self-limiting upper airway infection to severe respiratory failure. Carbocysteine is a thioether mucolytic with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities. Carbocysteine has been shown to have anti-viral effects on human rhinovirus, RSV and the influenza virus as well as interfering with upper airway ciliary motility, the first site of SARS-CoV-2 infection, leading to more effective mucus clearance and potential containment of viral spread towards the lower airway.

Exploring the Role of Krebs von den Lungen-6 in Severe to Critical COVID-19 Patients.

COVID-19 encompasses a broad spectrum of clinical conditions caused by SARS-CoV-2 infection. More severe cases experience acute respiratory and/or multiorgan failure. KL-6 is a glycoprotein expressed mainly from type II alveolar cells with pro-fibrotic properties.

Three Month Follow-Up of Patients With COVID-19 Pneumonia Complicated by Pulmonary Embolism.

Previous studies have demonstrated persistent dyspnoea and impairment of respiratory function in the follow-up of patients who have recovered from COVID-19 pneumonia. However, no studies have evaluated the clinical and functional consequences of COVID-19 pneumonia complicated by pulmonary embolism. The aim of our study was to assess the pulmonary function and exercise capacity in COVID-19 patients 3 months after recovery from pneumonia, either complicated or not by pulmonary embolism.

Evolving concepts in COPD and lung cancer: a narrative review.

Lung cancer (LC) and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) represent leading causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Common risk factors lead to an increased inflammatory response, enhances oxidative stress, and changes in lung microenvironment contributing to fine-tuned interaction between these respiratory disorders. Despite evidence that COPD represents a main risk factor for LC, assessment of LC risk features among COPD patients is not routinely considered in the clinical practice.

Which impact for proton pump inhibitors in SARS-CoV-2 pneumonia.

Identification of risk factors for severe outcome of SARS-CoV-2 infection is an important issue in COVID-19 management. Much attention has been focused on comorbidities as well as drugs taken by patients. Usage of proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) appears to potentially influence disease course.

SARS-CoV-2: One Year in the Pandemic. What Have We Learned, the New Vaccine Era and the Threat of SARS-CoV-2 Variants.

Since the beginning of 2020, the new pandemic caused by SARS-CoV-2 and named coronavirus disease 19 (COVID 19) has changed our socio-economic life. In just a few months, SARS-CoV-2 was able to spread worldwide at an unprecedented speed, causing hundreds of thousands of deaths, especially among the weakest part of the population. Indeed, especially at the beginning of this pandemic, many reports highlighted how people, suffering from other pathologies, such as hypertension, cardiovascular diseases, and diabetes, are more at risk of severe outcomes if infected.