ABSTRACT
Objective To investigate clinical characteristics of relapsing polychondritis(RP)and to improve early recognition for it.Methods Clinical and laboratory data of 56 patients with RP were analyzed retrospectively.Results Ratio of number of male patients to female ones was 1.2.Age at onset was(46?11)years(ranging from 27 to 71)and average interval between onset and diagnosis was(21? 35)months,(8?6),(16?31)and(29?37)months for patients initial onset with auricle,respiratory tract and joints involved,respectively.Site involved included airway in 40 patients(71.4%),auricle in 32 (57.1%),joints in 32(57.1%),eyes in 27(48.2%),nasal chondritis in 25(44.6%)and inner ear in 13(23.2%).At initial stage of the course,17 patients were misdiagnosed as respiratory infection (30.4%),nine as perichondritis(16.1%),six as pulmonary tuberculosis(10.7%),five as rheumatoid arthritis(8.9%).Seven of 40 patients with airway involvement received metallic stents for their tracheobronchial stenosis.Four patients whose condition never improved after regular therapy all had respiratory involvement.Conclusions Patients of RP with initial onset at non-auricle,non-nasal sites tended to be misdiagnosed.Prevalence of airway involvement was not so low with a poor prognosis in patients of RP.