title: Relapsing polychondritis.
abstract: Relapsing polychondritis (RP) is a rare, inflammatory disease with multisystem involvement and it should be considered in the aetiology of sudden respiratory distress. A 49-year-old woman was admitted to the emergency service of Osmangazi Hospital in acute respiratory distress. She had a tracheostomy following a diagnosis of laryngeal stenosis 10 years earlier. She was managed thereafter at another hospital with a diagnosis of asthma. At admission she was in respiratory distress, had arthralgias, bilateral subconjunctival hyperaemia, periorbital oedema and skin lesions. A thoracic CT showed tracheal wall thickening. Calcification of the auricular regions were noted bilaterally. Bronchi, conjunctiva and skin lesions were biopsied with a provisional diagnosis of RP. The diagnosis of RP in this patient was based on clinical, pathological and radiological findings. Steroid therapy was begun and she was referred to a surgical centre for stenting. This case report emphasizes the need to consider the possibility of RP as a cause of sudden respiratory distress.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chest Disease, Osmangazi University Medical School, Eskişehir, Turkey. fusunalatas@yahoo.com
authors.forename: Füsun
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Alataş
authors.forename: Ragip
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Ozkan
authors.forename: Muzaffer
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Metintaş
authors.forename: Hale
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Moral
authors.forename: Sinan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Erginel
authors.forename: Irfan
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Uçgun
mesh_terms: D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007829:Laryngostenosis / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000601:surgery; D008875:Middle Aged; D011081:Polychondritis, Relapsing / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000188:drug therapy; D012128:Respiratory Distress Syndrome / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D013256:Steroids / Q000008:administration & dosage; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed; D014139:Tracheostomy
chemical_list: D013256:Steroids