[Renal and respiratory failure in a pregnant woman with progressive systemic sclerosis. Anatomo-clinical case].

Pregnancy in patients with systemic sclerosis may predispose to a fast progression of the disease. We report a woman with systemic sclerosis and multiple visceral involvement that during the third trimester of pregnancy developed a respiratory failure caused by interstitial fibrosis complicated with alveolar hemorrhage, bronchopneumonia and respiratory distress syndrome and a renal failure. On admission, she was subjected to a cesarean section, delivering a 1205 g newborn. In spite of intensive care support, the multisystemic failure became unmanageable and the patient died 15 days after admission. Literature review, although sometimes controversial, indicates that pregnancy is a situation with a definitive death risk for patients with systemic sclerosis, that requires a close follow up.