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Biomedical subjects

C M Sanguinetti

Publications and source records attributed to C M Sanguinetti.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2005

GP management of community-acquired pneumonia in Italy: the ISOCAP study.

BACKGROUND: Community-Acquired Pneumonia (CAP) is still a significant problem in terms of incidence, mortality rate, particularly in infants and the elderly, and socioeconomic burden. General Practitioners (GPs) are the first reference for patients with this disease, but there are few published studies regarding the outpatient treatment of CAP. METHODS: The ISOCAP study aimed to identify the type and outcome of the diagnostic-therapeutic management of CAP by GPs in Italy, within the framework of developing a closer interrelationship between GPs and pulmonary specialists. Thirty-six Pulmonary Divisions throughout Italy each contacted 5 local GPs who agreed to recruit the first 5 consecutive patients who consulted them for suspected CAP within the study's 1-year observation period. RESULTS: A total of 183 GPs took part in the study and enrolled, by the end of the observation period, 763 CAP patients; of these, complete data was available for 737 patients [males=373, females=364, mean age (+/- SD) 58.8 +/- 19.6 years]. 64.4% of patients had concomitant diseases, mainly systemic arterial hypertension and COPD. Diagnosis of CAP was based by GPs on physical examination only in 41.6% of cases; in the remaining chest X-ray was also performed. In only 4.6% of patients were samples sent for microbiological analysis. All patients were treated with antibiotics: 76.7% in mono-therapy, 23.3% with a combination of antibiotics. The antibiotic class most prevalently used in mono-therapy was cephalosporin, primarily ceftriaxone; the most frequently used combinations were cephalosporin + macrolide and cephalosporin + quinolone. Mono-therapy was effective in 70% of cases, the combination of two or more antibiotics in 91.2% of patients. Overall treatment efficacy was 94.7%; hospitalisation was required in 8.5% of cases. CONCLUSIONS: Outpatient management of CAP by GPs in Italy is effective, hospitalisation being necessary only in the most severe cases due to age, co-morbidities or extent of pneumonia. This signifies a very significant savings in national health costs.

Anti-Bacterial Agents↗
PubMed2004

Adjustable maintenance dosing with budesonide/formoterol in a single inhaler provides effective asthma symptom control at a lower dose than fixed maintenance dosing.

Asthma guidelines suggest a stepwise approach to maintenance pharmacological treatment of persistent asthma until control is attained, and a 3 month review of the fixed maintenance dosing for step-up or step-down adjustment. This 12-week study compared the efficacy and safety of budesonide/formoterol in a single inhaler (Symbicort Turbuhaler 160/4.5 or 80/4.5 microg) given as adjustable maintenance or fixed maintenance dosing. Patients (n = 2358) were randomised to budesonide/formoterol fixed maintenance dosing (two inhalations bid) or adjustable maintenance dosing (two inhalation bid; stepping up to four inhalations bid if asthma worsened for a maximum of 14 days; stepping down to two inhalations once nocte or one inhalation bid if symptoms were controlled) for 12 weeks, following a 4-week run-in period on budesonide/formoterol two inhalations bid. Primary efficacy variables were frequency of asthma exacerbations and changes in patients' asthma symptom severity. Secondary variables were asthma control, safety and health economics. Both adjustable maintenance dosing and fixed maintenance dosing were associated with similar low frequency of exacerbations (5% both groups; ns) and similarly improved lung function, with similarly fewer nocturnal awakenings and less asthma symptoms compared with the mean value of the run-in period. However, patients on adjustable maintenance dosing used 24% fewer study drug compared with fixed maintenance dosing (2.95 versus 3.86 inhalations daily; p < 0.0001) and incurred in a significant (p <0.0001) reduction in total costs (direct+indirect) compared with fixed maintenance dosing. In conclusion, adjustable maintenance dosing with budesonide/formoterol effectively controls asthma at a reduced drug load with lower costs than fixed maintenance dosing.

Adult↗
PubMed2002

EDU-CARE, a randomised, multicentre, parallel group study on education and quality of life in COPD.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) represents one of the main causes of morbidity and mortality in the western world. Unfortunately, its therapy is largely palliative, the key aims of treatment being to reduce exacerbations, minimise symptoms, and improve patients' ability to perform their usual daily activities. In the absence of true disease-modifying treatments, the concept of rehabilitation has become important. In addition, it has been shown that educational and self-management programmes may play a role in the general treatment of COPD patients. This study was promoted by the Italian Association of Hospital Pulmonologists (AIPO) with the aim to verify changes and improvements induced by an educational programme validated by AIPO in patients with COPD. Edu-Care is a 6-month, multicentre, randomised, controlled, parallel-group study. In addition to treatment within the usual therapeutic schemes for COPD, patients were randomised to either the 'Educational' group, i.e. to receive a formal and structured educational programme, or the 'Normal General Advice' group, i.e. to receive the usual general advice given by general practitioners on life-style and on the disease's risk factors and treatment. A number of evaluations were performed: pulmonary function test, walking distance, quality of life, locus of control, register of number of exacerbations and hospital admissions. To date, of the 1,230 patients enrolled interim data are available from 1,003 patients. Males represent 85% of the study population. Smoking habit is quite a common status (21%). In the year prior to enrolment 34% of patients had one exacerbation, 49% 2-3 exacerbations, and 17% more than 3 exacerbations. Seventy-two percent of patients were not hospitalised over the year prior to enroLlment, while 22% were hospitalised once and 6% had more than 2 hospitalisations. Edu-Care is the first large study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of an educational programme for patients with COPD. AIPO wishes to make a contribution to this important field. This is the reason why Edu-Care includes a very large number of patients in numerous Italian centres throughout northern and southern Italy.

Activities of Daily Living↗
PubMed2000

Bacterial agents of lower respiratory tract infections (LRTIs), beta-lactamase production, and resistance to antibiotics in elderly people. DEDALO Study Group.

This study determined the etiology of lower respiratory tract infections in the elderly and assessed whether the growth of beta-lactamase producing bacteria is particularly favoured in these patients. Between December 1998 and May 1999, 187 patients with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP), and 887 patients with acute exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AECOPD) were enrolled. The mean age was 74 years (range of 65-94 year). Sputum and bronchial aspirate for microbiological investigation were obtained. Besides organisms commonly involved in bacterial infections of the lower respiratory tract (i.e. Streptococcus pneumoniae, Haemophilus influenzae, and Moraxella catarrhalis), Enterobacteriaceae and Pseudomonas spp. were also found. A high percentage of these bacteria were beta-lactamase producers. These data along with the clinical presentation, severity of infection, and epidemiological knowledge, might represent a guide for the choice of empiric antimicrobial treatment.

Aged↗
PubMed2000

Effect of intravenous fructose 1,6-diphosphate administration in malnourished chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients with chronic respiratory failure.

BACKGROUND: Weight loss and skeletal muscle wasting are common in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and can influence the course and the prognosis of COPD. Hypophosphatemia is a pathologic status often characterized by muscle weakness and is a frequent laboratory finding in these patients. OBJECTIVE: The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effect of an organic phosphate (fructose 1,6-diphosphate, FDP) administration on respiratory performance in 45 malnourished COPD patients in stable clinical conditions. METHODS: Physiologic evaluation including spirometry, maximal voluntary ventilation (MMV), elevated arm test, maximal mouth pressures (PImax and PEmax), respiratory response to CO(2), oxygen (PaO(2)) and carbon dioxide (PaCO(2)) arterial tension, a visual analogic scale (VAS) to measure dyspnea, and complete blood tests were done at the beginning and again at the end of the study. RESULTS: After FDP administration, there was a significant increase in PImax (43.0 +/- 18.3 cm H(2)O before treatment vs. 49.8 +/- 14.9 cm H(2)O after treatment; p < 0.005). This did not occur in the placebo group (40.3 +/- 17.4 cm H(2)O before treatment vs. 42.6 +/- 20.1 cm H(2)O after treatment, nonsignificant). There was also a trend of VAS to decrease and of MVV to increase. CONCLUSIONS: These results show that FDP administration may be useful in the management of malnourished COPD patients, especially in increasing their respiratory muscle strength.

Aged↗
PubMed2000

Validation of a new technique to assess exhaled hydrogen peroxide: results from normals and COPD patients.

Chronic airways inflammation in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) induces the activation of several cell types with delivery of proteases and reactive oxygen species (ROS). Assessing oxidant content in the exhaled air of COPD patients has proven useful in monitoring airway inflammation. The present study was designed to confirm the usefulness of exhaled hydrogen peroxide concentration determination in COPD patients using a new technique which allows longer storage of the expired air condensate before the H2O2 assay. The technique was applied in 13 healthy nonsmoking subjects (six male, age range 22-40 yrs) and in seven patients (five male, age range 58-81 yrs) with mild or moderate COPD. Subjects breathed into a one-valve mouthpiece, and the exhaled air was directed into a vial kept at 0 degree C. After approximately 15 min of quiet breathing, 1 mL of expired air condensate was collected. An aliquot, 450 microL, of this sample was immediately added to an equal volume of a reaction mixture containing 2 mM 3,5,3',5'-tetramethylbenzidine and 40 microL of enzyme stock solution (0.5 mg.mL-1). After 15 min, 45 microL sulphuric acid was added (1 N final concentration), resulting in a reaction mixture pH of 1.0. After a further 10-min incubation, H2O2 concentration determination was performed spectrophotometrically at 450 nm. This solution, as well as the H2O2 assay, was stable for > or = 24 h if the sample was kept in the dark and at 4 degrees C. There was high stability on repeated measures, with a coefficient of variation equal to zero. The mean +/- SD H2O2 level in exhaled air from normal subjects was 0.12 +/- 0.09 microM, whereas it was significantly increased in COPD patients (0.50 +/- 0.11 microM; p = 0.0001 compared to healthy subjects). In three healthy control subjects, a normal H2O2 level in expired air increased to 0.70-0.80 microM during an acute upper respiratory tract infection. This new technique of hydrogen peroxide assay in expired air condensate greatly minimizes the inaccuracy deriving from the instability of hydrogen peroxide. The preliminary results obtained using this technique provide direct evidence for increased reactive oxygen species production in the airways of stable chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients. However, the specificity of the procedure could be reduced by the interference of upper respiratory tract infections.

Adult↗
PubMed2000

New therapeutic approach to persistent asthma.

The goal of asthma treatment has moved from achieving symptom relief alone to overall disease control. The latest guidelines propose that first-line treatment of mild persistent asthma requires the introduction of anti-inflammatory agents, preferably inhaled corticosteroids at low dose. In patients in whom control of disease is not achieved with this treatment, it was demonstrated that addition of a long-acting beta 2-agonist is more effective than increasing the dose of inhaled corticosteroid. Addition of a long-acting beta 2-agonist to an inhaled corticosteroid not only improves symptoms and lung function but also reduces the risk of asthma exacerbations, suggesting complementary therapeutic activity. Therefore, use of long-acting bronchodilators with inhaled corticosteroids is a prerequisite for optimal management of the disease. For this reason, the logical development in asthma management would be a combination of these two classes of drug in a single inhaled formulation. Fixed combinations of the long-acting beta 2-agonist salmeterol and the inhaled corticosteroid fluticasone propionate were launched recently. Results from recent clinical trials have demonstrated that the combination of salmeterol and fluticasone propionate improves control of asthma in the majority of patients with moderate-to-severe asthma and enhances compliance by virtue of both drugs being in the one inhaler. The possibility to treat asthma of differing severity is provided by the flexibility to choose between three different doses of fluticasone propionate in the fixed combination devices. Another obvious advantage of the combination is cost savings, as the fixed combination inhaler is cheaper than giving the two drugs separately. The introduction of combination preparations is an important step forward in asthma management, which is expected to be a popular choice with both patients and physicians.

Adrenergic beta-Agonists↗
PubMed1999

Asthma controller therapy: role of antileukotrienes, a new therapeutic class.

Asthma is a chronic disease and should be treated with both controller and reliever drugs. Asthma controller therapy is not used sufficiently widely, probably due to low compliance with inhaled drugs, lack of response in some patients to low-medium doses of inhaled steroids and possible adverse events. This review analyses a new class of antiasthmatic drugs, leukotriene receptor antagonists (antileukotrienes). At present, two antileukotrienes are available in Italy: zafirlukast and montelukast. Antileukotrienes improve symptoms and also inhibit the effects of some of the inflammatory mediators involved in the pathogenesis of asthma; therefore, antileukotrienes may be used in monotherapy. In addition, the oral administration route is an advantage for compliance. Antileukotrienes significantly improve pulmonary function, asthma symptoms and inhaled and oral steroid and short-acting beta 2-agonist use. Moreover, antileukotrienes produce a 50% mean reduction in the incidence of asthma exacerbations compared with placebo. From the economic point of view, asthma controller therapy using antileukotrienes is associated with a > 50% (compared with placebo) reduction in healthcare costs (hospitalization due to asthma exacerbation, healthcare contact and absenteeism from work or school), which globally account for 93% of asthma-related costs. Antileukotrienes are indicated in the treatment of persistent mild-to-severe asthma, seasonal allergic asthma, exercise-induced asthma and aspirin-induced asthma. Antileukotrienes are well tolerated independently of the duration of treatment and the incidence of the observed adverse events is substantially similar to that observed using placebo. Owing to good tolerability and compliance and the economic advantages, these agents may be considered a valid therapeutic option for the control and management of asthma as a chronic disease.

Administration, Inhalation↗
PubMed1998

Evidence-based medicine: a means of improving clinical outcome and cost-benefit ration.

Evidence-based medicine (EBM) is a new way of conceiving clinical practice based on the need to both improve the approach to the patient's care and rationalize the costs. EBM is thus defined as "the conscientious, explicit and judicious use of current best evidence in making decisions about the care of individual patients". To realize this project a cultural change is mandatory, involving doctors, health planners, and users, whose empowerment seems pivotal. Reasoning in terms of efficacy or even better of cost-benefit ratio will certainly improve the clinical outcome and the allocation of resources.

Cost-Benefit Analysis↗
PubMed1998

Airways microbial flora in COPD patients in stable clinical conditions and during exacerbations: a bronchoscopic investigation.

Patients affected with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) undergo frequent exacerbations of their illness characterized by increased cough and expectoration. The precise aetiology of these episodes often remains unknown. In the absence of clinical or radiographic signs of pneumonia, bacterial or viral cultures of sputum usually provide little useful information. Thus, we performed fibreoptic bronchoscopy using a protected specimen brush (PSB) to obtain uncontaminated secretions for culture from 56 patients with COPD, 16 with stable clinical conditions and 40 affected with exacerbations of the disease. The aim of our study was to evaluate bronchial microbial flora by quantitative aerobic and anaerobic culture of each specimen. Twenty five subjects (45%), 4 (16%) in stable state and 21 (84%) with COPD exacerbations, had specimens which gave rise to significant bacterial growth (> 10(3) colony forming units.mL-1). The predominant bacteria were Streptococcus pneumoniae (in 10 cases) and alpha-haemolytic streptococci (in 6 cases); other bacteria found were coagulase-negative staphylococci and Branhamella catarralis in (2 cases each), and Proteus mirabilis, Haemophilus influenzae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Aerococcus viridans and Chromobacterium violaceum (each in a single case only). Although significant bacterial growth was more frequently found in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease exacerbations and in those with a higher degree of bronchial inflammation, the differences between the two groups of patients were not statistically significant. Nevertheless, the results obtained in our study confirm the validity of and the need for reliable sampling methods (like the protected specimen brush) to demonstrate significant bacterial colonization of the airways in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients.

Aged↗
PubMed1998

Causes of chronic persistent cough in adult patients: the results of a systematic management protocol.

Chronic persistent cough (CPC) is a common symptom generally caused by postnasal drip syndrome (PND), bronchial asthma (A), chronic bronchitis (CB), and gastro-oesophageal reflux (GOR). The purpose of this study was to confirm the value of a testing protocol for determining the causes of CPC in adult patients and for evaluating the outcome of its specific therapy. Ninety-two patients with unexplained CPC were sent to our Department between January 1994 and June 1996. The mean (+/- SE) duration of cough was 32.7 (+/- 4.5) months. We studied these patients (number) by applying an anatomical protocol, according to which clinical evaluation they underwent: chest (92) and sinus (90) radiography, spirometry (92), methacholine inhalation challenge (88), skin prick tests (67), oesophagoscopy (28), prolonged oesophageal pH monitoring (14), and bronchoscopy (49), as needed. The results of the standardized specific therapy refer to 87 patients because 5 patients were lost to follow-up. Thus, CPC was due to: sinusitis or chronic rhinitis plus PND in 56% of patients, CB in 18%, A in 14%, GOR in 5%, PND and GOR in 6%, A and GOR in 1%. The cough went away in 79/87 patients after specific treatment, based on the diagnostic findings, giving a success rate of 91%. The results of the present study confirm previous findings indicating that one or more causes of chronic persistent cough can be found, and that an elevated success rate of therapy was reached when an anatomic diagnostic protocol was used.

Adult↗
PubMed1997

Pulmonary arteriovenous fistula in a patient with Rendu-Osler-Weber syndrome.

Pulmonary arteriovenous fistula (PAVF) is an abnormal connection between pulmonary arteries and veins. Patients with PAVF may have the Rendu-Osler-Weber syndrome, a disease transmitted by autosomal dominant mechanisms. Here we describe a case of PAVF in a 56-year-old woman, who was admitted to our department because of dyspnea, hemoptysis, and a mass in the left lower lung found on chest X-ray. The diagnosis of PAVF was suspected according to clinical and physiological criteria and confirmed by magnetic resonance imaging of the chest. The PAVF was removed by left lower lobectomy. Anamnestic and clinical investigations of the patient's relatives led to the diagnosis of the Rendu-Osler-Weber syndrome.

Adult↗
PubMed1996

Localized fibrous pleural tumour of the interlobular pleura.

Localized fibrous tumours of the pleura (LFTP) are rare, generally benign and asymptomatic neoplasms, which originate from the pleural layers. We report on the case of a 67 year old woman who had a 1.5 cm diameter pulmonary nodule in the right upper lobe, which had been found by chance. Video-assisted thoracoscopy (VAT) was used to excise the nodule. The diagnosis of localized fibrous tumour of the interlobar pleura was made on microscopic evaluation. After 17 months, the patient is well and her chest radiographic image is normal.

Aged↗
PubMed1995

Bronchoalveolar lavage fluid level of carcinoembryonic antigen in the diagnosis of peripheral lung cancer.

The objective of this study was to verify whether the assay of carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) can increase the sensitivity and specificity of serum CEA for the diagnosis of lung cancer. We examined 72 subjects, 53 males and 19 females, 18 affected with peripheral lung cancer (10 adenocarcinoma, 6 squamous cell carcinoma, 1 small cell lung cancer, 1 adenosquamous carcinoma), 19 with acute pneumonia, 14 with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), 6 with interstitial lung disease (ILD), and 15 healthy subjects. CEA was assayed in blood and in BALF using microparticle enzyme immunoassay (MEIA) (IMX Abbott). The mean serum CEA value in the lung cancer group did not differ from that in each group of non-neoplastic subjects, neither was it different from that in healthy subjects. The mean BALF CEA in patients with lung cancer, pneumonia, and COPD was significantly increased compared with that in healthy subjects, whereas there was no difference between the three groups of patients. The ratio of BALF CEA was not significantly different in the three groups of patients. There were no differences according to the histological type of the tumour (adenocarcinoma or squamous cell carcinoma). Based on the results in healthy subjects, the upper limits of normal were defined for serum CEA, BALF CEA, and CEA/albumin ratio. Thus, the sensitivity of BALF CEA in detecting lung cancer (50%) was higher than that of serum CEA (33%), although clinically not useful. In addition, BALF CEA had only 59% specificity compared to 100% of serum CEA. The diagnostic accuracy was 79% for serum CEA and 56% for BALF CEA.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adenocarcinoma↗