A case of severe dyspnea caused by relapsing polychondritis

Relapsing polychondritis (RP) is a multi-systemic rheumatic disease characterized by widespread and potentially destructive inflammatory lesion of the cartilage. The rarity of the disease and the lack of pathognomonic laboratory findings sometimes cause delay in diagnosis. We report a 72-year-old woman with RP. When she was referred to our hospital 4 weeks after the onset of respiratory symptoms, she was having severe breathing difficulty. Immediate tracheostomy followed by steroid therapy dramatically improved her condition of RP, although the treatment was complicated due to her other condition, depression. While airway involvement of RP can be life threatening, it is curable with steroid therapy. Otolaryngologists should keep in mind that airway obstruction could be caused by RP.