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Amniotic fluid embolism (AFE) is a rare pathological syndrome, sometimes fatal that arises as an obstetric complication during vaginal delivery, caesarean, immediate postpartum or during pregnancy. It remains as an important cause of fetal and maternal morbidity and mortality. The authors present a clinical report of a young woman who developed an acute respiratory failure during labour demanding invasive mechanical ventilation and an urgent caesarean. In spite of early medical intensive therapy, hypoxemia was refractory and had a progressive worsening leading to multi-organ failure and ultimately to death. Diagnosis was confirmed through the identification of fetal material in the lumen of maternal pulmonary microcirculation.

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RESUMEN

The Portuguese Journal of Pulmonology is progressively achieving an important status in Portuguese medical literature. The present editors thought it would be an enriching task to revise the main topics published during 2009. The invited members of the Editorial Board covered and commented the most relevant articles and gave us an important picture of the quality of the science it was published in Portuguese Pulmonology.

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RESUMEN

Agents that inhibit the activity of cell membrane receptor tyrosine kinases, such as the human epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) have been an attractive target because EGFR is expressed by 80% of NSCLC. Erlotinib as monotherapy in the treatment of NSCLC after failure of at least one prior chemotherapy regimen, prolonged survival and improved quality of life, although modest response rate. Women, Asiens, patients with Adenocarcinoma and never smokers, were more likely than other patients to have a response to erlotinib. This is the group of patients that most commonly have an EGFR mutation. The authors describe two cases, with important control of symptoms and increased time to progression, independently o response rate (stable disease or partial response). Rev Port Pneumol 2008; XIV (Supl 3): S53-S60.