Pneumatoceles usually have a benign presentation. The authors describe an uncommon case of a 3-month-old boy who had a first episode of pneumonia and left pleural effusion. At the age of 2, he had another episode of pneumonia with pneumatoceles formation. He progressed with wheezing and enlargement of the pneumatoceles, chickenpox, urinary infection, liver abscess and toxocariasis. When he was 3 years old, the patient was admitted to hospital with pneumonia, giant bilateral pneumatoceles, status asthmaticus and possible immunodeficiency. Due to a restrictive pulmonary disorder, a chest tube was placed in one of the pneumatoceles, but there was no improvement in his respiratory status. He progressed to sepsis and respiratory failure, needing mechanical ventilation. The patient was submitted to bilateral bullectomy with expansion of the collapsed lung. However, he died soon after the surgery. This was an uncommon case with pneumatoceles that evolved to respiratory failure requiring surgical intervention.

Keywords: Pneumatoceles. Bullous lung disease. Cysts. Staphyloccocal pneumonia. Ventilatory insufficiency. Bullectomy.

Thymolipoma is a very rare benign neoplasm of the thymus. We present the case of a 42-year-old male with a massive mediastinal tumor discovered on a chest X-ray after a motorcycle accident. The patient had no complaints, and his physical examination was unremarkable. Chest CT scans revealed a lipomatous mass containing areas of soft tissue density. The patient was submitted to median sternotomy expanded to left anterolateral thoracotomy, resulting in the complete excision of the tumor. The pathological diagnosis was thymolipoma. Thymolipoma usually attains enormous dimensions by the time of diagnosis, and the occasional symptoms are related to compression of adjacent structures. Surgical resection is the treatment of choice and offers the only possibility of cure. The airway deserves special care during anesthesia induction.

Keywords: Thymus neoplasms; Mediastinal neoplasms; Thymectomy; Lipoma.

The authors report a case of pleural lipoma which was found incidentally in a thoracic roentgenogram. The radiographic studies were inconclusive about the nature of the lesion. The diagnosis was established by histologic study of the tumor excised by thoracotomy, after an inconclusive cytologic study obtained by transthoracic fine needle aspiration.

Keywords: Lipoma. Pleura.

The hemangiopericytoma is a rare malignant neoplasia that involves the lungs in about 10% of the cases. It usually presents as a great encapsulated mass in asymptomatic patients. The treatment of choice is surgical resection. The authors present a case of malignant lung hemangiopericytoma in a 62 year-old woman, followed by discussion and review of literature.

Keywords: Hemangiopericytoma. Lung neoplasms.

A 23 female patient presented with productive cough, vomica and hair elimination in the sputum. Chest X-ray and CT showed a pulmonary abscess in the right lower lobe. The clinical treatment failed. A lobectomy was done and showed a benign lung teratoma, a very rare disease.

Keywords: Teratoma. Thoracic neoplasms.

A case of exuberant endobronchial tuberculosis is presented in a 29-year-old male patient, HIV negative, under endoscopic aspects before and after the institution of a specific therapy. Considering the high tuberculosis infection/disease prevalence in our environment and the potential sequelae of this kind of tuberculosis, the authors emphasize the importance of the respiratory endoscopic examination for the diagnosis, treatment, and follow-up of endobronchial lesions.

Keywords: Bacilo álcool-acidorresistente

The authors report a typical case of pediatric sarcoidosis presenting a granulomatous pulmonary disease with systemic impairment, reviewing clinical, diagnostic, and particular aspects of the disease in this age group, with emphasis on the difficulty to differentiate its diagnosis from that of tuberculosis.

Keywords: Sarcoidosis. Pulmonary sarcoidosis. Lung diseases.

Trauma primarily affects young people and is the leading cause of death in the first three decades of life. Flail chest is observed in approximately 10% of all patients with severe chest trauma, and the mortality rate among such patients is 10-15%. We report herein the case of a car accident victim with chest trauma causing hemopneumothorax and multiple rib fractures, intense pain and deformity of the chest wall. Surgical stabilization was performed, with good results. Therapeutic options are also discussed.

Keywords: Thoracic injuries; Flail chest; Thoracoplasty.

Microsporidiosis is a rapidly emerging protozoon infection that has been reported predominantly in severely immunosuppressed persons with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). Since the first case of human microsporidian infection was reported in 1956, over 400 cases have been documented. The initial description of microsporidian infection in AIDS patients occurred in 1985. Five genera have been identified as the agents of microsporidiosis in immunocompromised persons (Enterocytozoon, Encephalitozoon, Septata, Pleistophora and Nosema). Respiratory tract infection due to microsporidia is associated almost exclusively with disseminated disease produced by members of the genera Encephalitozoon and Septata. Metronidazole and albendazole were recently reported to be responsible for clinical improvement of patients. The authors reported a case of a woman with AIDS and respiratory symptoms related to two pulmonary pathogens: Mycobacterium tuberculosis and Encephalitozoon cuniculi, identified by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) using diagnostic primers targeting the small subunit ribosomal RNA.

Keywords: Microsporidiosis. Respiratory tract infection. Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome.

A forty year old woman, 72 hours after liposuction, complained of sudden dyspnea, fever and tachycardia. Thoracic radiography and duplex-scan of deep veins were normal. Pulmonary scintigraphy suggested thromboembolism. The patient had hypoxia, anemia and mental confusion after three days of systemic heparin. Once fat embolism syndrome was suspected, heparin infusion was stopped and corticosteroid therapy was started. After that, the patient was much better and discharged from hospital.

Keywords: Fat embolism syndrome. Pulmonary thromboembolism. Liposuction.

The authors report a case of bronchoesophageal fistula found unsuspectedly in bronchoscopy. The radiological findings were compatible and etiologic confirmation was established by histopathological studies.

Keywords: Bronchoesophageal fistula. AIDS.

Granular cell tumors are uncommon neoplasm arising from Schwann cell. They are uncommon in the respiratory tract and there are only 32 cases described with primary tracheal involvement. A case is described of a 28 year-old woman with granular cell tumor located primarily in the trachea. The tumor was treated surgically with good result.

Keywords: granular cell tumor; trachea

Here, we describe the case of a 51-year-old female with mediastinal liposarcoma. Liposarcoma is the most common malignant mesenchymal neoplasm in adults, although a mediastinal location is extremely rare. It has a large volume and varied histologic subtypes. It is characterized by the compression of neighboring structures. Computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging provide useful data for diagnosis. Tissue biopsy and histological typing are very important in determining the treatment and are needed for the final diagnosis. Radiotherapy and chemotherapy are ineffective treatment modalities. According to the literature, surgical resection is the treatment of choice. Long-term follow-up evaluation is indicated since there is a high rate of recurrence.

Keywords: Liposarcoma; Mediastinal neoplasms; Case reports [publication type].

The authors report a rare case of benign lung tumor, the INTRABRONCHIAL LEIOMYOMA, of a 33-year-old male patient. Diagnosis was performed by bronchoscopy with tumor biopsy, the tumor consisted largely of smooth muscle fibers. The option for treatment, after seven years of tumor evolution, was pneumonectomy.

Keywords: Leiomyoma; Bronchi, Lung neoplasm.

We report the case of a 74-year-old female patient diagnosed with a giant cell tumor of the sternum. The clinical and radiological presentation was indicative of a primary tumor of the sternum. The patient underwent complementary tests and surgery. The pathological examination confirmed the diagnosis. Commonly observed in the long bones of the appendicular skeleton, this type of tumor is characterized by its local aggressiveness and metastatic potential. We also review the literature on the topic.

Keywords: Sternum; Giant cell tumors; Thorax.

We present the case of a 60-year-old female patient who had been in menopause for 14 years and presented a pulmonary nodule on chest X-ray diagnosed in the postoperative follow-up evaluation of breast cancer. The patient had a history of mastectomy and ipsilateral axillary lymphadenectomy for invasive ductal breast carcinoma, as well as of hormone therapy, chemotherapy, and adjuvant radiotherapy. After thoracoscopic nodulectomy, the frozen section analysis revealed a pulmonary hamartoma. Recent studies show that 75% of patients who undergo surgery for pulmonary nodules after a curative mastectomy for breast cancer present lung metastases, 11.5% present primary lung cancer, and 13.5% present benign lesions, including hamartoma.

Keywords: Hamartoma; Breast neoplasms; Lung neoplasms; Neoplasm metastasis.

A case of polycystic hydatid disease with radiological manifestations that mimicked pulmonary metastatic lesions is reported. The patient, from Brasília, DF, was admitted to the Brasilia University Hospital in February 1996, with a six-month history of unproductive cough, progressive dyspnea, thoracic pain and an episode of hemoptysis. Besides the pulmonary lesions, a CT scan showed hypodense lesions and calcifications in the right lobe of the liver. Repeated examinations of the sputum and bronchoalveolar lavage revealed no malignant cells. An open lung biopsy was then performed and allowed the authors to recognize the helminthic nature of the disease. Protoscolices, probably of Echinococcus vogeli, were found in tissue sections. The source of infection was supposed to be some hunting dog lodged in a kennel kept by the patient. Administration of albendazole brought no significant improvement to the pulmonary lesions, after one year of treatment not yet interrupted.

Keywords: Polycystic hydatid disease. Polycystic echinococcosis. Neotropical echinococcosis. Echinococcus vogeli.

A case is presented of a 36 year-old woman, with metastatic lung choriocarcinoma with atypical clinical and radiological presentation. The finding of pulmonary hypertension indicated the possibility of pulmonary thromboembolism, still, the definitive diagnosis and cause of pulmonary embolism were done in the autopsy. The authors discuss the manners of choriocarcinoma metastasis presentation, its repercussions and the latent period which may exist until it presents evidence of neoplasm.

Keywords: Choriocarcinoma. Pulmonary embolism.

Behçet disease has been associated to pulmonary manifestations and may be lethal if not treated correctly. The authors describe a case of a 53 year-old male with aneurysmatic pulmonary artery dilatation, pulmonary hypertension, and hemoptysis. A review is presented about the diagnosis and the medical and surgical treatment of this disease.

Keywords: Behcet's syndrome. Pulmonary artery. Pulmonary hypertension. Aneurysm. Hemoptysis.