SANTUS , Pierachille

While chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) continues to be a major cause of morbidity and mortality, pharmacological therapy has a definite benefit on symptoms as well as the frequency and severity of exacerbations, and general health. The most recent Global Initiative for Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) guidelines recommend triple...

The large surface area for gas exchange makes the respiratory system particularly susceptible to oxidative stress-mediated injury. Both endogenous and exogenous pro-oxidants (e.g. cigarette smoke) trigger activation of leukocytes and host defenses. These mechanisms interact in a "multilevel cycle" responsible for the control of the...

The pathophysiology of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) includes persistent airflow limitation, altered gas exchange, and enhanced chronic inflammatory response. According to disease severity in individual patients, exacerbations and comorbidities frequently occur. The overall nocturnal and daily symptoms have a strong impact on...

Inhalation is the preferred route of drug administration in chronic respiratory diseases because it optimises delivery of the active compounds to the targeted site and minimises side effects from systemic distribution. The choice of a device should be made after careful evaluation of the patient's clinical condition (degree of airway...

Background Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a heterogeneous disorder characterized by usually progressive development of airflow obstruction that is not fully reversible. While most patients will experience symptoms throughout the day or in the morning upon awakening, many patients do not experience their symptoms as constant but...

Purpose: The purposes of this study were development and validation of an expert system (ES) aimed at supporting the diagnosis of chronic obstructive lung disease (COLD). Methods: A questionnaire and a WebFlex code were developed and validated in silico. An expert panel pilot validation on 60 cases and a clinical validation on 241 cases were...

Background Conflicting findings exist on the benefit of withdrawal of inhaled corticosteroid (ICS) in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). We performed a quantitative synthesis in order to assess real impact of ICS discontinuation in COPD patients. Methods We carried out a meta-analysis via random-effects model on the available...

Aim: This article reports on a retrospective quarterly cost description (CD) performed on 401 patients with stable chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) at enrolment in the national, multicenter, noninterventional SATisfaction and adherence to COPD treatment (SAT) study.Methods: Examined from the perspective of the Italian National...

Background: Understanding the level of patients' satisfaction with treatment and its determinants have the potential to impact therapeutic management and clinical outcome in chronic conditions such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Methods: A national, multicenter, longitudinal, observational study of COPD from 20 Italian...

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a heterogeneous disease. The severity grading systems proposed by the Global initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) have changed over time. The aim of the study was to evaluate if the different GOLD classifications can capture the complexity of the disease by investigating the...

Background: Patient awareness of COPD refers to knowledge and acceptance of the disease and its treatment. Although it is relevant to management and outcomes, the disease awareness of patients is poorly investigated, and no validated questionnaires are currently available. We aimed to develop the novel Disease Awareness in COPD Questionnaire...

Proper use of inhaler devices may be problematic in elderly patients due to age-related difficulties. A survey was administered to elderly patients to investigate the usability of the Genuair® device and patients' subjective viewpoint on the device. A representative sample of the Italian population aged ≥ 65 years was completed with a...

Background: The role of disability and its association with patient-reported outcomes in the nonsevere forms of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) has never been explored. Objectives: The aim of this study was to assess, in a cross-sectional real-life study, the prevalence and degree of disability in moderate COPD patients and to...

Objective: The large amount of evidence and the renewed interest in upper and lower airways involvement in infectious and inflammatory diseases has led Interasma (Global Asthma Association) to take a position on United Airways Diseases (UAD). Methods: Starting from an extensive literature review, Interasma executive committee discussed and...

Introduction The Italian Society of Anti-Infective Therapy (SITA) and the Italian Society of Pulmonology (SIP) constituted an expert panel for developing evidence-based guidance for the clinical management of adult patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outside intensive care units. Methods Ten systematic literature searches were...

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Asthma considerably impairs patients' quality of life and increases healthcare costs. Severity, morbidity, and degree of disease control are the major drivers of its clinical and economic impact. National scientific societies are required to monitor the application of international guidelines and to adopt strategies to improve disease control...