Pulmonary rehabilitation in Italy: professional barriers to overcome.

We read with great interest the study on pulmonary rehabilitation by SPRUIT et al. [1] and the accompanying editorial by ROCHESTER et al. [2]. From the starting point of a global view on pulmonary rehabilitation programmes and organisation, the study reports the modalities by which pulmonary rehabilitation is delivered worldwide, showing substantial differences between North America and Europe. As pulmonary physicians working in Italy, we are clearly more interested in the European scenario with the aim to compare our practice with that of other European countries, and to understand the unmet needs and problems in Europe in delivering robust and effective pulmonary rehabilitation programmes.