Zhai SY, Zhang YH, Guo RY, Hao JW, Wen SX. Relapsing polychondritis causing breathlessness: Two case reports. World J Clin Cases 2022; 10(23): 8360-8366 [PMID: 36159534 DOI: 10.12998/wjcc.v10.i23.8360]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Shu-Xin Wen, MD, Chief Doctor, Department of Otorhinolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, Shanxi Bethune Hospital, No. 99 Longcheng Street, Taiyuan 030000, Shanxi Province, China. wensxsx@163.com
Research Domain of This Article
Otorhinolaryngology
Article-Type of This Article
Case Report
Open-Access Policy of This Article
This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Song-Yu Zhai, Department of Otorhinolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, Xi’an Fourth Hospital, Xi’an 710004, Shaanxi Province, China
Yu-Hao Zhang, Shu-Xin Wen, Department of Otorhinolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, Shanxi Bethune Hospital, Taiyuan 030000, Shanxi Province, China
Ru-Yan Guo, Department of Otorhinolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, The First People's Hospital of Nanyang, Nanyang 473000, Henan Province, China
Jie-Wen Hao, Department of Otorhinolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, The Third Clinical College of Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan 030000, Shanxi Province, China
Author contributions: Zhai SY designed the study and drafted the manuscript; Zhang YH designed the study and interpreted data; Guo RY participated in the data collection; Wen SX designed the study and supervise the manuscript writing; all authors have read and approved the final manuscript.
Informed consent statement: Informed written consent was obtained from the patient for publication of this report and any accompanying images.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.
CARE Checklist (2016) statement: The authors have read the CARE Checklist (2016), and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the CARE Checklist (2016).
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Shu-Xin Wen, MD, Chief Doctor, Department of Otorhinolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, Shanxi Bethune Hospital, No. 99 Longcheng Street, Taiyuan 030000, Shanxi Province, China. wensxsx@163.com
Received: March 16, 2022 Peer-review started: March 16, 2022 First decision: May 12, 2022 Revised: May 24, 2022 Accepted: July 11, 2022 Article in press: July 11, 2022 Published online: August 16, 2022 Processing time: 137 Days and 22 Hours
Abstract
BACKGROUND
Relapsing polychondritis is a rare multisystem autoimmune disease that mainly involves systemic cartilage and proteoglycan-rich tissues. If the larynx and trachea are involved, the patient’s condition deteriorates rapidly. When relapsing polychondritis becomes more advanced, the airways collapse and treatment is difficult, rendering a poor prognosis. Therefore, the diagnosis method, treatment strategy and prognosis of relapsing polychondritis with larynx and trachea involvement need to be elucidated to improve clinicians’ awareness of the disease.
CASE SUMMARY
A man and a woman were admitted because of breathlessness. Relapsing polychondritis was diagnosed after a series of accessory examinations. They were both treated with glucocorticoids and immunosuppressants, and underwent tracheotomy as their breathing difficulties could not be relieved by the medication.
CONCLUSION
The two cases highlight the importance of the timely diagnosis, full evaluation and initiating individualized treatment of relapsing polychondritis with larynx and trachea involvement. Laryngoscopy, bronchoscopy and pathological examination are helpful in diagnosis of this disease.
Core Tip: Relapsing polychondritis is a rare multisystem autoimmune disease, if the larynx and trachea are involved, the patient’s condition deteriorates rapidly. We here report two cases of relapsing polychondritis involving the larynx and trachea. Necessary accessory examinations, timely diagnosis and full evaluation, and initiating individualized treatment are important to reduce the mortality rate and improve patient prognosis.
