Unusual Roentgenographic Presentation of Lung Cancer in a Pregnant Woman with Acute Respiratory Failure

Abstract

Diagnostic procedures in pregnant woven is limited and is usually delayed, especially

so if she is on mechanical ventilation. A 28-year-old pregnant woman with severe

dyspnea was referred to our hopital under the impression of miliary tuberculosis. The

respiratory failure was so severe that patient had to be managed with mechanical

ventilator under clinical imression of overwhelming pneumonia or pulmonary tuberculosis.

But the patient's conditions deteriorated. Bronchoscopy and blind transbronchial lung

biopsy performed to determine the nature of the etiology, and to our surprise, revealed

squamous cell carcinoma of the lung.