Doppler-derived dP/dt for AV delay optimization determines better functional class and LVEF at 6 months follow-up relative to an empiric AV delay program.

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Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a disease state characterized by airflow limitation that is not fully reversible, and progressive lung function decline. In Italy, an estimated 2.6 million men and women have COPD, and the disease causes around 18 000 deaths each year. In addition to mortality, morbidity from COPD results in substantial use of secondary healthcare resources. The burden of COPD in Italy may be due to the underdiagnosis of the disease by healthcare professionals, particularly in the early stages of the disease, and a lack of awareness among physicians of recommended treatment practices. In an attempt to address the need for information on the burden of COPD, a large-scale international survey, Confronting COPD in North America and Europe, assessed clinical outcomes, use of healthcare resources and loss of productivity in the workplace, and the economic cost of this disease in Italy and six other countries. In Italy, the economic analysis of the survey data showed that the mean annual cost of COPD to the healthcare system was Euro 1261.25 per patient Indirect costs were estimated at Euro 47.29 per patient, bringing the societal cost of the disease to Euro 1308.54 per patient. Three-quarters of the direct per patient cost of COPD in Italy were accounted for by inpatient hospitalizations (Euro 963.10), suggesting that interventions aimed at preventing exacerbations could alleviate the burden of COPD in Italy. The high impact of COPD on the Italian healthcare system is also likely to be a consequence of the underdiagnosis and undertreatment of the disease, suggesting that costs may be reduced by increasing the utilization of spirometry as a diagnostic tool, and improving physician adherence to treatment guidelines. Patients with severe COPD and other comorbidities showed higher costs (Euro 6366 and Euro 1861, respectively) than patients with mild disease (Euro 441) or no comorbidities (Euro 1021), underlying the importance of smoking cessation interventions to prevent disease progression.

This study confirmed that the annual CAP incidence rate in the general population of South Europe is about 2 per 1000 population and showed a wide choice of antibiotic treatment.

Telespirometry, performed in a GP's office, can aid the diagnosis of obstructive airway diseases and could help GPs to better manage airway obstruction.

Molecular autopsy is the process of investigating sudden death through genetic analysis. It is particularly useful in cases where traditional autopsy is negative or only shows non-diagnostic features, i.e., in sudden unexplained deaths (SUDs), which are often due to an underlying inherited arrhythmogenic cardiac disease. The final goal of molecular autopsy in SUD cases is to aid medico-legal inquiries and to guide cascade genetic screening of the victim’s relatives. Early attempts of molecular autopsy relied on Sanger sequencing, which, despite being accurate and easy to use, has a low throughput and can only be employed to analyse a small panel of genes. Conversely, the recent adoption of next-generation sequencing (NGS) technologies has allowed exome/genome wide examination, providing an increase in detection of pathogenic variants and the discovery of newer genotype-phenotype associations. NGS has nonetheless brought new challenges to molecular autopsy, especially regarding the clinical interpretation of the large number of variants of unknown significance detected in each individual.

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