A case of relapsing polychondritis mimicking lung cancer

Abstract

Relapsing polychondritis (RP) is a rare autoimmune disease, characterized by episodic inflammatory attacks on cartilaginous tissue. Elastic cartilage of the ears and nose, hyaline cartilage of the peripheral joints, vertebral fibrocartilage, tracheobronchial cartilage, and tissues rich in proteoglycan such as those in the eyes, heart, blood vessels, and inner ear are more likely to be affected. A 35-year-old male presented with complaints of hoarseness, tinnitus and dyspnea for 19 years, with a history of several diagnostic and therapeutic interventions for laryngeal and respiratory tract. He was diagnosed to have inflammation of the tracheobronchial cartilage, cardiac valvulopathy and conductive hearing loss after intensive diagnostic studies. He responded well to low-dose steroids in combination with methotrexate. RP is a diagnostically challenging condition and may cause significant morbidities during diagnosis. RP should be considered in differential diagnosis of airway obstruction as a rare condition.