Autofluorescence bronchoscopy to identify pre-cancerous bronchial lesions

Background. This study aimed to assess the diagnostic yield of autofluorescence bronchoscopy (AFB) in the detection of pre-cancerous bronchial lesions in a non-selected sample of patients. Methods. Both fiberoptic white-light bronchoscopy (WLB) and AFB using the Storz D-light system were performed on 166 consecutive patients. Biopsy specimens were taken in areas of the tracheobronchial tree judged as abnormal or suspicious at WLB and/or AFB. The bronchoscopic procedures were randomly performed by two operators. Results. A total of 93 patients had a positive biopsy specimen: 80 for cancer and 13 for dysplasia. AFB was abnormal or suspicious in 85 of the 93 patients with a sensitivity of 91.4%. Specificity was 50.7%. In 16 patients with normal WLB examination, AFB identified abnormal or suspicious areas which had a positive biopsy. Thus AFB significantly improved sensitivity of WLB (100% vs 82.8%, respectively, p<0.001) in the entire sample of patients studied. Data was further analysed separately for patients with dysplasia and those with cancer. Indeed, 13 of 16 patients recognized only by AFB had a histological diagnosis of dysplasia. The remaining three patients had a diagnosis of cancer (small intraepithelial neoplastic lesions). Since no other patient with dysplasia was found, AFB had a sensitivity of 100% in diagnosing dysplasia. On the other hand, excluding the 13 patients with dysplasia, WLB had a high sensitivity in diagnosing cancer (93.7%). Conclusions. The AFB Storz system showed a high sensitivity. The increase in diagnostic yield of AFB in comparison with WLB was related to the power of AFB to identify pre-cancerous bronchial lesions so showing its usefulness in the early diagnosis of lung cancer

Areas Subjected to debris flow phenomena in Friuli Venezia Giulia Alps

Val Canale Valley is located in the Italian Julian Alps, in the North Eastern corner of Friuli Venezia Giulia Region. On 29th August 2003 the area has been invested by a strong intensity rainfall event (Pontebba\u2019s rain gauge station, recorded the highest rainfall depths: 389,6 mm in 12 hours, characterised by return periods in the 200 and 500 years for 12-h periods) that caused the death of two persons, 300 displaced and 260 damaged houses and substantial damages to infrastructures that were made unavailable for several days. The mobilization of more than a thousand of landslides occurred along the sides of the involved valley

Physical activity ratios for various commonly performed sedentary and physical activities in obese adolescents.

The physical activity ratio (PAR) values are commonly used to convert subjects' physical activity recalls into estimates of daily energy expenditure (DEE). A PAR is defined as the ratio between energy expenditure corresponding to a sedentary or a physical activity (kJ/min) and basal metabolic rate [(BMR) kJ/min]. The objective of the present study was to determine the PAR for different sedentary and physical activities in obese adolescents. Thirty-three obese adolescents [mean body mass index: 35.1 kg/m2; 40.3 % fat mass] aged 11 to 17 yr participated in this study. BMR was assessed by indirect calorimetry after an overnight fast by means of an open-circuit, indirect computerised calorimetry with a rigid, transparent, ventilated canopy. Energy expenditures corresponding to various sedentary and physical activities in free-living conditions were determined using a portable metabolic unit, and body composition by bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA). The PAR of each activity was obtained by dividing the assessed energy expenditure by BMR. In this study, the PAR of various sedentary and physical activities did not vary significantly with sex, age, and body mass. Thus, the data for boys and girls were combined and the PAR for 27 sedentary and physical activities were determined. The PAR values can be applied to determine the mean DEE (kJ) using the specific equation considering BMR (kJ/min), PAR, and duration (min) of each activity performed by the subject during the 24 h. This information will be useful to health-care professionals because estimation of DEE in obese adolescents is necessary in order to prescribe an adequate dietary therapy to induce a desired level of energy deficit

Prevalence of asthma and atopy in Italian Olympic athletes

This study aimed to assess the prevalence of asthma and atopy in the Italian athletes who were trying for a position on the Italian Olympic team for the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games. Overall, 1060 athletes (mean age 24 years, range 15-69 years, 729 males) were recruited and divided into three groups of sport activities: 1) anaerobic 2) aerobic-anaerobic, 3) aerobic. Asthmatic and atopic athletes were identified by a self-administered, standardized questionnaire modified from the ISAAC questionnaire. Spirometry was performed in the athletes who reported wheezing or asthma and in an equal number of randomly selected controls. Athletes reporting wheezing or asthma were 15%. However, only a minority of asthmatics had moderate or severe disease: indeed, 2.5% reported more than 4 attacks in the last year. The prevalence of atopy was 18%. Asthma was more common in athletes engaged in aerobic sport activities than in the other groups. Asthmatic athletes had a significantly lower value of some spirometric parameters in comparison with the control group. In conclusion, the prevalence of wheezing or asthma in a large sample of Italian competitive athletes was found higher than in general population; respiratory symptoms were more prevalent in athletes engaged in aerobic sport activities; a significant impairment of lung function was found in athletes suffering from mild and rarely symptomatic asthma

Horizontal and vertical ridge augmentation for implant placement in the aesthetic zone

Lack of sufficient bone to place an implant at the functionally and aesthetically most appropriate position is a common problem, especially in the upper anterior jaw. A surgical technique is proposed to augment the alveolar ridge for vertical and horizontal defects through a localized alveolar osteotomy and interpositional bone graft. Three bone cuts (two vertical and one horizontal) are made in the alveolar bone. This portion of bone is carefully down-fractured. The gap between this bone box and the alveolar bone is filled with an interpositional bone graft. An on-lay bone graft is placed in the buccal side of the defect and fixed with titanium osteosynthesis screws. The aim of this surgical technique is to achieve bone graft healing in a short period of time. The broad vascular pedicle on the palatal side is maintained to ensure a nutritional supply for the down-fractured bone and interposed bone graft. The on-lay bone graft augments the palatal-buccal dimension and the interposed graft guarantees vertical augmentation. \ua9 2007 International Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons