Gefitinib is a low-molecular-weight epidermal growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitor. To date, gefitinib has been administered to over 65,000 people worldwide. The most commonly reported adverse events were diarrhea, acne-like skin rash, nausea, vomiting and asthenia. Most of them were transient and mild in severity. Interstitial lung disease in patients who have been treated with gefitinib is uncommon and has recently been described with an estimated incidence rate of around 1%. We present here a case of fatal drug-induced pulmonary toxicity after therapy with gefitinib for metastatic non-small cell lung cancer. The patient had been treated with gemcitabine and cisplatin, and developed drug-induced hemolytic-uremic syndrome 6 months before gefitinib use.

SUMMARYNumerous investigators have reported an increased incidence of pneumonia caused by Gram-negative bacilli and other secondary pathogens in transplant recipients infected by cytomegalovirus (CMV). To determine if CMV infections are related to colonization of the upper respiratory tract by Gram-negative bacilli, we examined prospectively 22 renal transplant recipients with sequential bacteriological, virological and biochemical examinations performed just prior to and at various times after transplantation. Only 11 % of subjects had Gram-negative bacilli isolated from gargle specimens prior to transplantation, as compared to 54 % after transplantation. More importantly, after transplantation, subjects with active CMV infections were more likely to have prolonged oropharyngeal carriage of Gram-negative bacilli than subjects without CMV infections (36 % v. 25 %). During active CMV infections, the rate at which Gram-negative bacilli were isolated from gargle specimens rose from 28 to 47 %. During culture-positive CMV infections, the isolation rate reached 57 % and was significantly different from that of CMV-negative samples (P < 0O01). The increased rate of Gram-negative bacillary isolation from gargle specimens during CMV infections was not a function of type of immunosuppresive agents used, rejection episodes, antibiotic administration, concomitant hepatitis B, Epstein-Barr (EBV) virus, or herpes simplex virus infections, or alterations in salivary fibronectin concentrations.

Uma paciente 48 anos apresentou-se, assintomática, mas com achado radiológico de condensações alveolares, algumas constituindo nódulos em lobo superior direito, lobo médio e língula com predomínio perihilar. Foi considerado o diagnóstico diferencial de neoplasia, sarcoidose, doenças granulomatosas e tuberculose, entre outras doenças. O diagnóstico de bronquiolite obliterante com pneumonia em organização foi estabelecido através de videotoracoscopia e foi iniciado o tratamento com esteróides. Houve boa evolução com resolução radiológica.

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A 27 year-old female patient, cocaine user, presenting hemoptysis and progressive dyspnea with onset 48 hours prior to hospital admission, without any other signs or symptoms. Serum tests for infectious diseases, collagen disorders and vasculitis were negative. Urinalysis was normal. Computed tomography of the chest showed diffuse alveolar infiltrate, affecting mainly the lower left lobe. A thoracoscopic lung biopsy was performed to clarify the diagnosis. The histopathological findings showed capillaritis and diffuse intra-alveolar hemorrhage. Treated with steroid and cyclophosphamide pulse therapy, a good clinical and radiographical response was obtained. The recently described pauci-immune pulmonary capillaritis is characterized by the presence of isolated pulmonary capillaritis and negative serum testing for auto-immune diseases