Chronic obstructive pulmonary (COPD) patients with mild-moderate daytime hypoxia or normoxia (PaO2 > 60 mmHg) may also have transient oxygen desaturation during sleep. Revisiting literature, the authors consider various features of this condition: the prevalence, causes, diagnostic procedures, symptoms, predisposing factors, consequences and the....

 Nocturnal oxygen desaturation during the sleep is very frequent in patients affected by chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Hypoventilation, rather than sleeping apnea, is commonly considered as the most relevant factor in the onset of nocturnal oxygen desaturation. On this topic, the Authors have carried on a study on the nocturnal....

Forty-eight patients suffering from intermittent bronchial asthma underwent methacholine challenge test. Response was stronger in 29 patients and less pronounced in 19. The two groups had the same characteristics except for the cumulative methacholine dose which was lower in severe hyperresponsiveness. The patients were studied both in the phase of....

In the second semester of 1999, 246 patients, living in a Roman urban area, were subjected to a prick-test screening. 194 (78.9%) of the patients showed a positive answer toward almost one of the tested allergens, whereas the other 51 persons (21.1%) turned out to be negative. Of the patients with a positive cutireaction, 59 (24% of total survey an....