Relapsing Polychondritis

Peter D. Kent; Clement J. Michet, Jr; Harvinder S. Luthra

Curr Opin Rheumatol. 2004;16(1)

Epidemiology

The incidence of relapsing polychondritis has been estimated to be 3.5 cases per million in Rochester, Minnesota.^[39,40] Using the data from three large studies, the female-to-male ratio is equal and the mean age at diagnosis is 47 years.^[1,3,4] Most cases occur in whites. Both pediatric and elderly cases have been described with an age range of 6 to 87 years.^[17] Pregnancy does not seem to influence the disease course, and 72% of pregnancies in one series were successful.^[41]

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Cite this: Relapsing Polychondritis - Medscape - Jan 01, 2004.

Table 1. Clinical Features of Relapsing Polychondritis
Feature	Presenting, %	Cumulative, %
Auricular chondritis	43	89
Arthritis	32	72
Nasal chondritis	21	61
Ocular inflammation	18	59
Laryngotracheal symptoms	23	55
Reduced hearing	7	40
Vestibular dysfunction*	4	28
Microhematuria^†	15	26
Saddle nose*	11	25
Cutaneous*	4	25
Laryngotracheal stricture^†	15	23
Vasculitis*	2	14
Elevated creatinine^†	7	13
Aortic or mitral regurgitation*	0	12
Aneurysm^†	0	4

*Data incomplete or not reported in the study by McAdam et al.^[1]
^†Data only from the study by Michet et al.^[3]
Data derived from three large case series and reviews, totaling 337 patients.^[1,3,4]

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Relapsing Polychondritis

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