The Characteristics of Imaging, Fiber-bronchoscope and Pulmonary Function Testing of Relapsing Polychondritis Patients with Respiratory Symptoms

OBJECTIVE:To analyze the characteristics of clinical manifestation, imaging, fiber-bronchoscope finding and pulmonary function testing in the patients of relapsing polychodriti with respiratory symptoms.METHODS:The clinical data of 33 patients with RP in West China Hospital of Sichuan University from May 2007 to May 2017 were analyzed retrospectively. The patients were divided into respiratory group (21 cases) and non-respiratory group (12 cases) based on whether the respiratory symptoms were main involvement, and the data of the two groups were statistically analyzed.RESULTS:Among the 33 patients, the most vulnerable system was respiratory system, accounting for 63.6%. The other involvement areas were as follows: ears 48.5%, joints 30.3%, skin 15.2%, noses and eyes 12.1% respectively. The chief complaints in the respiratory group were cough, polypnea, and fever. The major manifestations of the non-respiratory group were pain and swelling of ears and nose, joints. CT showed that the wall of trachea and main bronchus were thickened, calcified, and narrowed in 13 cases (61.9%) of the respiratory group. while 3 patients (25.0%) found thickened bronchus wall without bronchostenosis in non-respiratory group . Bronchoscopy showed that 86.7% (13/15) of the patients were found airway abnormal in the respiratory group, and none of the patients in the non-respiratory group had. In the test of pulmonary function, the respiratory group had lower one second forced expiratory volume (FEV1), [FEV1/ forced vital capacity (FVC)] and peak expiratory flow (PEF), and all the differences were significant (P<0.05).CONCLUSION:CT, broncho-scopy, and pulmonary function tests could provide early evidence to diagnosis of relapsing polychondritis, which is lack of specificity of diagnosis, especially respiratory system symptom onset.