[A case of the limited from of Wegener's granulomatosis without c-ANCA].
A 46-year-old woman was admitted to our hospital because of fever, cough and headache in December 2001. Although she had been treated for nasal obstruction and epistaxis by an otorhinolaryngologist in our hospital since 1996, no accurate diagnosis had been made despite repeated biopsies of the nasal mucosa. A chest CT taken in 1999 showed ground-glass opacities in both upper lobes. On admission, chest radiography and CT showed mass shadows without cavitation, corresponding to the lesions causing the ground-glass opacities. In addition, paranasal sinus MRI showed a deformity of the nasal septum accompanied by a space-occupying lesion, suggesting Wegener's granulomatosis. However, the cytoplasmic-antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (c-ANCA) test was negative. To achieve a definitive diagnosis, we performed an open lung biopsy. The specimen, obtained from the right upper lobe, showed the typical findings of a Wegener's granulomatosis including necrotizing vasculitis. Oral prednisolone treatment initiated at 20 mg daily, combined with oral cyclophosphamide at 50 mg daily markedly improved not only the clinical symptoms, but also the mass shadows in the left upper lobe. Patients with the limited form of Wegener's granulomatosis are occasionally seronegative and respond well to therapy. However, the natural course and the changes in chest radiographs are not understood well in such cases. In this paper, we report a case of the limited form of Wegener's granulomatosis that progressed slowly over a period of 6 years.
Ishii
Tomoya
T
First Department of Internal Medicine, Kagawa Medical University, Japan.
Bandoh
Shuji
S
Fujita
Jiro
J
Horiike
Atsushi
A
Tojo
Yasunori
Y
Kubo
Akihito
A
Yokomise
Hiroyasu
H
Ishida
Toshihiko
T
D000284:Administration, Oral; D019268:Antibodies, Antineutrophil Cytoplasmic / Q000097:blood; D015415:Biomarkers; D003520:Cyclophosphamide / Q000008:administration & dosage; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D018450:Disease Progression; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D005260:Female; D014890:Granulomatosis with Polyangiitis / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D008168:Lung / Q000473:pathology; D008875:Middle Aged; D011239:Prednisolone / Q000008:administration & dosage; D013902:Radiography, Thoracic; D013997:Time Factors
D019268:Antibodies, Antineutrophil Cytoplasmic; D015415:Biomarkers; D003520:Cyclophosphamide; D011239:Prednisolone