A Case Of Rheumatoid Arthritis Accompanied By Severe Eosinophilia / 대한류마티스학회지

ABSTRACT

Wegener's granulomatosis (WG) is a syndrome characterized by necrotizing granulomatosis lesions in the upper and lower respiratory tracts, glomerulonephritis, and generalized vasculitis involving both arteries and veins. This syndrome usually affects the upper and lower respiratory tract and the kidneys. Some patients with WG have cardiac involvement such as pericarditis, myocarditis, valvulitis, arrhthymia, coronary arteritis, and rarely cardiomyopathy. Ocular manifestations include keratitis, conjuntivitis, scleritis, retro-orbital granuloma with proptosis. Uncommonly, blindness may occur due to retinal vasculitis and optic neuritis. We report a 45-year-old female patient with WG who had sinusitis and lung nodules. She complained of sudden chest pain. Electocardiography and nuclear myocardial perfusion study suggested transient myocardial ischemia. During the active course of the disease, she complained of severe pain in the right eye-ball with decreased visual acuity. Subsequently, she developed monocular blindness probably due to retinal vasculitis.