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Biomedical subjects

G Camiciottoli

Publications and source records attributed to G Camiciottoli.

13 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2001

Pulmonary involvement in juvenile dermatomyositis: a two-year longitudinal study.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the prevalence and features of asymptomatic pulmonary involvement in juvenile dermatomyositis (JDM). METHODS: Twelve JDM patients underwent pulmonary function tests at baseline, 12 and 24 months. Disease activity, duration, serum lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) values and antinuclear antibody (ANA) titres were also evaluated. RESULTS: Five patients showed lung impairment at baseline and four at 12 and 24 months. Forced expiratory volume in 1s, forced vital capacity (FVC), carbon monoxide diffusing capacity (DLCO) and alveolar volume were the most frequently altered variables, indicating a restrictive pattern and impairment of diffusion. The prevalence and features of pulmonary alterations did not change during follow-up. FVC values were significantly lower in active JDM patients and were inversely related to LDH. DLCO values were significantly lower in ANA-positive patients. About half of the patients of this small case series of JDM had asymptomatic lung disease. CONCLUSIONS: We suggest that lung function should be evaluated at disease onset and regularly during follow-up, as pulmonary function tests can detect otherwise unpredictable pulmonary involvement.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2001

Fog-induced respiratory responses are attenuated by nedocromil sodium in humans.

Fog inhalation induces cough and bronchoconstriction in patients with asthma, but only cough in normal subjects; whether it also influences the pattern of breathing is unclear. Nedocromil sodium (NCS) inhibits the cough response to inhalation of several pharmacological agents but its effects on fog-induced cough and changes in the pattern of breathing are unknown. We evaluated the effects of no drug, placebo, and 4- and 8-mg NCS administration on the cough threshold and changes in the pattern of breathing during fog inhalation in 14 healthy subjects. Measurements of tidal volume (VT), duration of inspiratory and expiratory times (TI and TE, respectively), total duration of the respiratory cycle (TT), mean inspiratory flow (VT/TI), duty cycle (TI/TT), respiratory frequency (f, 60/TT), and inspiratory minute ventilation (V I) were obtained by inductive plethysmography. Median cough threshold values were unaffected by placebo, but were increased (p < 0.01) by both NCS doses. In no-drug and placebo trials, inhalation of the threshold fog concentration caused increases in both VT/TI and V I (p always < 0.05) due to selective increases (p < 0.01) in VT. These changes were markedly attenuated by both NCS doses administration. Thus, fog induces coughing and increases in VT, VT/ TI, and V I in healthy subjects; NCS possesses antitussive effects and attenuates fog-induced changes in the pattern of breathing, possibly through inhibition of rapidly adapting "irritant" receptors.

Adult↗
PubMed1999

Pulmonary function in children affected by juvenile spondyloarthropathy.

OBJECTIVE: Pleuropulmonary involvement in adult spondyloarthropathy (SpA) has been thoroughly investigated. SpA is usually detected by conventional radiology as fibrosis of the upper lobes in about 30% of asymptomatic patients. Pulmonary function tests (PFT) reveal decreased vital capacity and total lung capacity, as well as increased residual volume. Juvenile SpA (JSpA) is a rare clinical condition, and no extensive investigations have been carried out on pulmonary involvement in JSpA. We studied prevalence and features of PFT alterations in patients with JSpA over a 2 year followup and analyzed the relationship between PFT and disease duration, disease activity, and chest and spine mobility. METHODS: Eighteen patients with JSpA, with no clinical signs of lung disease and normal chest radiographs, underwent PFT--static and dynamic volumes, diffusing capacity for carbon monoxide (DLCO), at enrollment (T0), at 12 months (T1), and at 24 months later (T2). Disease activity was defined at each investigation by clinical and hematological data. RESULTS: Significant functional lung impairment was detected in 33% of patients (reduced forced vital capacity in 22% and DLCO in 11%). No significant change in the prevalence and features of PFT alterations was detected at T1 and T2; no relationship was found between PFT and duration, activity, and clinical scores of the disease. CONCLUSION: Thirty-three percent of JSpA patients without clinical symptoms and no radiological findings of lung involvement show PFT alterations, mainly characterized by a restrictive pattern. No progression or modification in PFT developed over 2 years. No correlation was found between PFT and disease duration, activity, and clinical scores.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1998

Effect on lung function of methotrexate and non-steroid anti-inflammatory drugs in children with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis.

We evaluated lung function in a group of patients affected by juvenile rheumatoid arthritis (JRA), without clinical and/or radiological signs of respiratory involvement. We compared the effects on pulmonary function of methotrexate (MTX) therapy combined with non-steroid anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) to those of NSAIDs alone and correlated lung function to subtype onset, disease duration and disease activity. Our patients were 27 JRA children, subdivided into two groups according to the therapy (group A = 14 patients, treated with a low dose of MTX and NSAIDs; group B = 13 patients, treated with NSAIDs alone). Clinical evaluation, haematological data and pulmonary function tests (PFTs) were obtained in each group at baseline (time 0) and at 1 year (time 1). At time 0 and time 1 PFTs were altered in 51.8% of JRA patients. The restrictive pattern (reduced forced vital capacity, FVC) was the most frequent feature, observed in 22.2% of patients. In group A the mean values of FVC, FEV1 (forced expiratory flow in 1 s), FRC (functional residual capacity), TLC (total lung capacity) and DLCO (diffusing lung capacity of carbon monoxide) were significantly lower compared to those of group B, at time 0 and at time 1. No functional parameter was correlated to subtype, duration or activity of the disease. Our study confirms that abnormalities in PFTs may be detected in JRA patients, even in the absence of clinical and/or radiological signs of lung disease; MTX in combination with NSAIDs does not seem to affect lung function at 1 year more than NSAIDs alone.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1998

Pulmonary involvement in juvenile systemic lupus erythematosus: a study on lung function in patients asymptomatic for respiratory disease.

Pleuro-pulmonary involvement has been well recognized in adults affected with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), but few studies have been carried out in children. A longitudinal study on a group of 15 children affected with juvenile SLE (JSLE), asymptomatic for lung disease, was performed, and the prevalence and the features of respiratory function alterations, over a period of 12 months, were analysed. Moreover, a possible correlation between any pulmonary function test (PFT) and disease duration, disease activity, visceral involvement and immunological pattern was evaluated. At baseline, a significant functional lung impairment was present in 40% of patients, with a significantly reduced FVC, VA and DLCO in 26% of them; in 60% of patients at 6 months and in 33% of patients at 12 months. At 6 and 12 months, our data did not show any significant modification in PFTs and the restrictive pattern, observed at baseline, remained unchanged. No correlation between altered PFTs and disease duration, activity and/or immunological findings was found. At baseline, the presence of neurological involvement was the only extra-pulmonary feature correlated to reduced FVC.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1995

Comparison of dose-response slopes obtained by simultaneous assessment of changes in FEV1 and transcutaneous oxygen partial pressure during methacholine challenges in asthmatic patients.

We aimed to ascertain whether monitoring changes in transcutaneous (tc) oxygen partial pressure (PO2) may be used to determine the slope of the dose-response curves to inhaled methacholine. In 10 adult asthmatic patients, FEV1 and tcPO2 were simultaneously measured during inhalation of doubling methacholine concentrations. In each patient, the slopes of the methacholine dose-response curves for FEV1 and tcPO2 were similar and strongly correlated (r = 0.72; p < 0.05). The results indicate that tcPO2 monitoring represents a useful, reliable tool for analysis of the slope of dose-response curves to inhaled methacholine in asthmatic patients. It can also be used to investigate the pathophysiological implications of bronchial hyperreactivity.

Adult↗
PubMed1993

Changes in transcutaneous oxygen partial pressure as an index of response to inhaled methacholine in asthmatic patients.

Bronchoconstriction and hypoxemia have been reported to occur during airway challenges, but the correlation between changes in forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1) and transcutaneous oxygen partial pressure (tcPO2) during methacholine provocation tests has not yet been established (to our knowledge). In 15 symptom-free atopic asthmatic patients and 5 normal subjects, variations in tcPO2 and FEV1 were simultaneously measured during inhalation of doubling methacholine concentrations; the drug concentrations causing a 20 percent decrease in control FEV1 and tcPO2 (PC20FEV1 and PC20tcPO2, respectively) were subsequently calculated. In patients, geometric mean PC20FEV1 and PC20TcPO2 were 1.31 (range, 0.16 to 5.19) and 1.26 (range, 0.29 to 5.82) mg/ml, respectively. In addition, in six patients, methacholine-induced fall in tcPO2 was accompanied by similar changes in arterial PO2. Methacholine inhalation caused no change in tcPO2 or FEV1 in normal subjects. The independent effects of deep breath tests and bronchoconstriction on PC20tcPO2 were studied in five patients challenged on two separate occasions, with and without FEV1 assessment; in these patients, PC20tcPO2 were similar on both the study days. The results indicate that, in asthmatic patients, methacholine-induced bronchoconstriction causes parallel decreases in FEV1 and tcPO2. The tcPO2 monitoring may serve as a tool in the assessment of airway hyperreactivity when active patient's cooperation is scarce.

Administration, Inhalation↗
PubMed1992

Clinical utility of non invasive methods in the evaluation of scleroderma lung in pediatric age.

Lung involvement in children affected with Systemic Sclerosis (SSc) has been studied. We used ventilation and perfusion scans and compared the results to those obtained with traditional pulmonary function tests. The vascular pulmonary area was examined with a gama-camera after infusion of 99mTc microspheres, while the alveolo-capillary membrane and the airways were investigated after administration of a radioaerosol, (99mTc DTPA). Pulmonary function tests revealed either alteration of the airways or a considerable involvement of the alveolo-capillary membrane in two patients. On the other hand ventilation scan showed airways alterations and a severe decrease of the alveolocapillary permeability in all patients. Our study indicates that ventilation scans may be useful in the diagnosis of early modifications of the lung function also in paediatric age and may complement the data obtained from traditional function tests.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[High resolution and spirometric synchronization computerized tomography in chronic obstructive bronchopneumopathy].

PURPOSE: To assess the feasibility of spirometrically gated HRCT in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and to correlate the density measures with the results of pulmonary function tests. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Pulmonary function tests and spirometrically gated HRCT were performed, on the same day, in 20 patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Spirometrically gated HRCT scans at 90 and 10% of the patient's vital capacity were acquired, at three anatomical levels (carena, carena plus 5 cm, carena minus 5 cm). In each section, lung parenchyma was isolated from the other thoracic structures and from the main bronchi and a densitometric evaluation was applied to the regions of interest. A histogram showing the distribution of the pixel frequencies versus lung densities, the mean CT number and the pixel index at -910 HU (for scans acquired at 10% of the patient's vital capacity) and at -950 HU (for scans obtained at 90% of the patient's vital capacity) were obtained. Average acquisition time for the spirometrically gated HRCt was 15-20 minutes, average data processing time was 20 minutes. RESULTS: The mean CT number and the pixel index at -910 HU obtained at 10% of the patient's vital capacity correlated with the Tiffeneau index (r = 0.85; R = 0.78 respectively). The pixel index at -910 HU correlated also with the ratio of residual volume to total lung capacity (r = 0.65). The mean CT number and the pixel index obtained at 90% of the vital capacity correlated with the lung diffusion of carbon monoxide (r = 0.64 and r = 0.79 respectively). CONCLUSIONS: In our study, we found good correlation between the densitometric values obtained with spirometrically gated HRCT and the respiratory function tests routinely employed to assess the presence and the gravity of obstructive pulmonary disease. A good reproducibility of the data is guaranteed by the spirometical gating which enables standardization of the lung acquisition volume, and by the semiautomatic contour tracing program combined with an automated densitometric evaluation. The main disadvantages of the technique are the relatively long acquisition and evaluation times. Spirometrically gated HRCT densitometry is a promising tool for longitudinal studies of diffuse lung disease (pulmonary emphysema and fibrosis).

Adult↗