Volume 186 - Issue 8
A woman with abnormal ears and an unusual voice
Authors: Aman Sharma, Pradeep Bambery, Ajay Wanchu, Surjit Singh and Naresh K Panda
Med J Aust 2007; 186 (8): 424. || doi: 10.5694/j.1326-5377.2007.tb00978.x
Published online: 16 April 2007
Published online: 16 April 2007
A 47-year-old woman presented with a 6-month history of fever, redness and pain in her ears and nose, and hoarseness of voice. She had redness and thickening of both ears (Figure A, solid arrow) with sparing of the lobule (hollow arrow), and a collapsed nasal bridge (Figure B). A computed tomography neck scan revealed destruction of the thyroid cartilage (Figure C). Antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies were negative, ruling out Wegener’s granulomatosis.
A diagnosis of relapsing polychondritis was made, and prednisolone and azathioprine were commenced. After 7 months of follow-up, there have been no further episodes of cartilagenous inflammation.
