Cricoarytenoid arthritis in ankylosing spondylitis. A cause of acute respiratory failure and cor pulmonale.
A man with ankylosing spondylitis developed cor pulmonale and acute respiratory failure due to cricoarytenoid arthritis. He was successfully treated by endoscopic arytenoidectomy, and the surgical specimen showed ossified cartilage. Flow-volume curves documented extra-thoracic airway obstruction produced by ankylosis of the cricoarytenoid joints.
D000368:Aged; D000402:Airway Obstruction / Q000150:complications; D001172:Arthritis, Rheumatoid / Q000150:complications*; D001193:Arytenoid Cartilage; D003413:Cricoid Cartilage; D006801:Humans; D007817:Laryngeal Cartilages; D008297:Male; D011660:Pulmonary Heart Disease / Q000209:etiology*; D012131:Respiratory Insufficiency / Q000209:etiology*; D013167:Spondylitis, Ankylosing / Q000150:complications*