title: [A case of relapsing polychondritis monitored by repeated measurements of flow-volume curve].
abstract: A 57-year-old man was admitted to our hospital with hoarseness, productive cough, and dyspnea. Chest CT revealed a thickening of the tracheal wall, and the flow-volume curve showed a constrictive upper airway flow pattern. Bronchoscopy revealed disappearance of cartilaginous rings and tracheal stenosis. Biopsy of the cricoid cartilage showed findings compatible with relapsing polychondritis and a diagnosis of relapsing polychondritis was made in accordance with Damiani's criteria. The flow-volume curve and symptoms were immediately improved by methylprednisolone pulse therapy, but on reduction of oral prednisorone, recurrence was identified by flow-volume curve and bronchoscopy. Administration of dapson and cyclophosphamide in addition to oral prednisolone after intravenous methylprednisolone and flow-volume curve resulted in improvement. In this case, monitoring of flow-volume curve was useful for the evaluation of airway complication in relapsing polychondritis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Respiratory Medicine, Nishinomiya Municipal Central Hospital.
authors.forename: Takashi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Niju
authors.forename: Naotoshi
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Tsuruta
authors.forename: Hanako
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kuhara
authors.forename: Yoshiyuki
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Saito
authors.forename: Hideki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Hara
mesh_terms: D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008449:Maximal Expiratory Flow-Volume Curves; D008875:Middle Aged; D008991:Monitoring, Physiologic; D011081:Polychondritis, Relapsing / Q000175:diagnosis*