Effects of the Narrative Intervention Program for Preschool Portuguese Children.

OBJECTIVE: This article analyzes the contribution of a narrative intervention program in linguistic performance (measured by the percentage of correct consonants [PCC], mean length of utterance [MLU], and auditory memory [AM]) of children. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A group of 14 children with primary language impairments participated in this study. The children were divided into two groups (seven children in each): the narrative intervention group (experimental group) and the control group. All children were treated by the same speech-language therapist. The narrative intervention program consisted of eight weekly group sessions. Outcome measures of PCC, MLU, and AM (of pseudowords, words, sentences, and orders) were taken before and after intervention. A qualitative assessment of the intervention effects from the perspective of the children's parents was also included. RESULTS: The results suggest improvements in PCC and MLU but no support for intervention effectiveness on these measures. In AM, the results indicate a significant intervention effect on words and orders. Parents reported intervention to be favorable/very favorable. CONCLUSION: The narrative intervention program was effective in enhancing children's AM. However, further investigation is required to provide clinical evidence for speech and language therapists to employ this program for children with primary language impairments.

[Pulmonary epithelioid hemangioendothelioma - rarity, diagnosis and treatment difficulties]. / Hemangioendotelioma epitelióide do pulmão - Raridade, dificuldades diagnósticas e terapêutica.

The authors report a case of a primary pulmonary epithelioid haemangioendothelioma (EHE) in a 51 year-old man, a mechanic, who complained of a dry cough followed by constitutional symptoms and dyspnoea. Patient underwent a series of diagnostic exams including surgical biopsy and pulmonary tuberculosis was diagnosed. He was prescribed tuberculosis drugs for three weeks. Following clinical and imagiology deterioration, the case was reviewed by pathologists who concluded the pulmonary biopsy revealed an intermediate/high grade pulmonary EHE/angiosarcoma. The patient underwent three cycles of chemotherapy with carboplatin, etoposide and bevacizumab with no complications. He died seven months after onset of symptoms and seven weeks after definitive diagnosis. The authors wish to highlight the rarity of this pulmonary neoplasm and the importance of clinical suspicion, and the diagnosis and treatment difficulties in addition to the potential benefits of antiangiogenic drugs.

[Solitary fibrous tumor of the pleura]. / Tumor fibroso solitário da pleura.

Solitary fibrous tumors of the pleura are rare tumors originating from the mesenchymal cells of the submesothelial tissue of the pleura. In half of the cases, the neoplasm presents as an asymptomatic mass, often with quite large dimensions. It is a benign tumor in 80% of the cases and even when considered malignant has a good prognosis if totally removed. We present the case of a 78-year-old female, who was evaluated for lower respiratory infection, in whom the diagnosis of Giant Solitary Fibrous Tumor of the Pleura was made. She was submitted to surgical en bloc resection and is asymptomatic and with no evidence of recurrence in the 4th month follow-up evaluation.