Brit. J. Ophthal. (I 974) 58, 6oo Relapsing polychondritis and eye disease

Relapsing polychondritis was first recognized as a clinical entity in I923 by Jaksch-Wartenhorst (I923) and reported by him under the title "polychondropathia". The term "relapsing polychondritis " was first used by Pearson, Kline, and Newcomer (I960). Up to I966, 49 cases had been described in the literature and these were reviewed by Dolan, Lemmon, and Teitelbaum (i 966). So far I 14 clinical cases have been described in the general medical literature. Migratory arthritis is frequently the earliest sign of the disease and is often accompanied by a febrile illness. Chrondritis, involving typically the external ear, follows at a variable interval after the onset of the disease. First one and then the other auricle becomes painful, swollen, and inflamed so that the pinna becomes distorted and floppy. The nasal, costal, tracheal, and laryngeal cartilage may also become involved, causing a characteristic saddle-nosed deformity, tracheal collapse which may require urgent tracheostomy, or eventual death from acute bronchial collapse. Involvement of the inner ear may lead to auditory impairment, tinnitus, and vertigo. Myocardial and aortic involvement can result in valvular disease and aneurysm formation. Anaemia and a raised erythrocyte sedimentation rat