A 27-year-old woman was admitted to our ICU with acute hypoxemic respiratory failure and criteria for ARDS. Despite an F(IO(2)) of 1.0 and a lung protective strategy, the patient died on day 15 without any improvement. The relatives gave consent for post-mortem analysis. The histopathologic study of the lung showed findings typical of an acute fibrinous and organizing pneumonia. Apropos of this case we performed a PubMed search. We found 13 articles, including a total of 29 patients. Acute fibrinous and organizing pneumonia is an unusual cause of acute lung injury. The diagnostic criterion is histopathologic. There is little information regarding the pathophysiology of this illness. Important questions remain regarding this disease, including predisposing factors and management. Patients who require mechanical ventilation have poor outcomes.

Chondroblastoma is a benign tumor arising in the epiphysis of long bones. The extraskeletal presentation is most unusual. We report the first cytological description of a soft tissue chondroblastoma. It was a subcutaneous mass in the leg of a 62-yr-old man. Fine-needle aspiration (FNA) rendered a highly cellular material with grouped and single polygonal or round cells with a uniform, sometimes eccentric nucleus. Microvacuolated cytoplasm and hemosiderin pigment were frequent findings. There were rare nuclear grooves and mitoses. A metachromatic, focally calcified stroma was present, occasionally surrounding the cells. There were also numerous multinucleated osteoclast-like giant cells. Histological evaluation was diagnostic of chondroblastoma. The tumor was locally aggressive. A review of other soft tissue masses with similar cytological findings is included in the discussion. FNA cytology is very helpful in the diagnosis of soft tissue chondroblastoma, but additional studies may be necessary for a definitive diagnosis.

Paclitaxel-loaded polymeric nanoparticles based on α-tocopheryl succinate for the treatment of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma: