A Case of Relapsing Polychondritis involving Trachea and Bronchi

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Relapsing polychondritis is a rare disesase involving any cartilaginous structure of entire body and is characterized by recurrent episode of inflammation and degeneration of cartilage and most commonly involve ear, nose, larynx, trachea, ribs, Eustachian tube, etc. Its signs and symptoms are recurrent swelling of auricle, saddle nose deformity, polyarthralgia, hoarseness and dyspnea, audiovestibular disturbance and cardiovascular abnormality, etc. Characteristic histologic findings are loss of normal basophilic staining of cartilage, perichondrial inflammatory infiltration with plamsa cells, lymphocytes and neutrophils, and finality, destruction of cartilage and replacement with scar tissue. Our case had saddle nose deformity, arthralgia, tracheal collapse, hearig loss and positive histologic finding but no auricular perichnodritis. Her major problem was airway. obstruction due to tracheal collapse. This case was diagnosed with relapsing polychondritis according to the Damiani's criteria. This case indicates that any patients complaining of airway obstruction have to be examined systemically.