69882 - Pneumology

Learning outcomes

Describe the clinical manifestations, etiology, epidemiology, risk factors, natural history, diagnosis, staging, prognostic indicators and management of the major respiratory diseases, with emphasis on those most commonly encountered in the clinical practice. Identify the major diagnostic and therapeutic options for each encountered clinical scenario, and discuss their benefits and limitations. Summarize decision-making algorithms for a correct differential diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment choice. Present and critically analyze clinical cases, discuss the differential diagnosis, and formulate appropriate diagnostic and therapeutic strategies for each case (Problem-Based Learning).

Course contents

COURSE CONTENTS

Physiopathology

- Epidemiology of respiratory disorders (i.e. the prevalence and incidence of these diseases, the risk factors and the economical burden)

• Mechanics of breathing (i.e. how we breathe, compliance, resistance and their changes during a disease)
• Pulmonary Function Tests (i.e. from simple spirometry, to plethismography and diffusion capacity tests)
• Respiratory failure (i.e. diagnosis and mechanisms of acute and chronic respiratory failure)
• Oxygen therapy (i.e. the way of administration and the devices used during acute respiratory failure and long-term oxygen therapy)
• Organ support (i.e. how to support the failing lung with noninvasive, invasive mechanical ventilation and extracorporeal CO2 removal)
• Dyspnea (assessment and mechanisms of the main respiratory symptom)

  Diseases

• Asthma (i.e. epidemiology, symptoms, diagnosis,

  prognosis and excursus on the main treatments)

• Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) (i.e. i.e. epidemiology, symptoms, diagnosis, prognosis and excursus on the main treatments)
• Pulmonary Fibrosis (i.e. epidemiology, symptoms, diagnosis, prognosis and excursus on the main treatments of both idiophatic and secondary fibrosis)
• Bronchiectasis (i.e. epidemiology, symptoms, diagnosis, prognosis and excursus on the main treatments)
• Pneumonia (i.e. epidemiology, symptoms, diagnosis, prognosis and excursus on the main treatments of Community Acquired Pneumonia and Hospital Acquired Pneumonia)
• Patient-doctor communication (i.e. the delivering of bad news in respiratory patients and related end-of-life decisions)

Readings/Bibliography

Readings/Bibliography

The materials provided on the website, including slides, videos and scientific guidelines and papers)

Suggested textbook

• Harrison textbook
• The John Hopkins Internal Medicine Board Review
• Mayo Clinic Internal Medicine Review

Teaching methods

Teaching methods

Slides will be provided 24-48 hrs before the lessons.

Interactive lectures where general rules are derived from practical examples taken from everyday experience.

Attendance to learning activities is mandatory; the minimum attendance requirement to be admitted to the final exam is 60% of lessons. For Integrated Courses (IC), the 60% attendance requirement refers to the total amount of I.C. lessons. Students who fail to meet the minimum attendance requirement will not be admitted to the final exam of the course, and will have to attend relevant classes again during the next academic year.

Professors may authorise excused absences upon receipt of proper justifying documentation, in case of illness or serious reasons. Excused absences do not count against a student’s attendance record to determine their minimum attendance requirement.

Assessment methods

INTEGRATED COURSE - Thoracic and Vascular Diseases (14 CFU): the final comprehensive assessment will consist of an oral exam with questions focusing on the learning objectives and topics of the integrated course. In each exam session, for practical and logistic reasons, two subcommittees will be appointed for the same final comprehensive assessment:

Subcommittee for Module A (Cardiology+Cardiac Surgery+Vascular Surgery+Pharmacology)

Subcommittee for Module B (Pneumology+Thoracic Surgery+Radiology+Pathology)

After assessment by the two subcommittees, the professors of the integrated course participate in the final collegial assessment, which considers the level of mastery of the key concepts illustrated during the lessons, critical thinking and the ability to integrate the key concepts and take-home messages of the different modules of the integrated course.

Final grades will be assigned according to the following criteria:

• Outstanding 30/30L: full preparation, consolidated and without inaccuracies on the topics covered in the integrated course. Ability to promptly frame the topic. Ability to analyze and connect independently different topics. Concepts in the right succession and full command of the specific language with some original elaboration by the student.
• Excellent 29-30/30: full preparation, consolidated and without significant inaccuracies on the topics covered in the course. Ability to promptly frame the topic. Ability to analyze and connect independently. Concepts in the right succession and full command of the specific language.

• Very good 27-28/30: preparation of very good level, but with significant inaccuracies compromising the achievement of full marks. Ability to analyze and link independently. Exposure of concepts in the right succession and with appropriate language
• Good 23-26/30: preparation of good level, but with important inaccuracies in the presentation. Ability to analyze and link after input from the teacher. Exposure of concepts in the right succession and with appropriate language.
  
  Sufficient 18-22/30: knowledge limited to the basic concepts without serious gaps, only after input from the teacher. Exposition of concepts and language acceptable as a whole.
•  Insufficient <18/30: lack of preparation. Serious and repeated conceptual errors.

Teaching tools

Audio visual tools will be the main tools in the lectures

Together with slides, videos showing some procedures (i.e. thoracenthesis), guidelines and major up-to-date articles will be provided also on line in the dedicated repository.

Office hours

See the website of Stefano Nava

See the website of Irene Prediletto