ARTICULAR INVOLVEMENT IN PATIENTS WITH RELAPSING POLYCHONDRITIS

Our objective was to study joint symptoms in patients with relapsing p olychondritis (RP) and their relationship to other clinical manifestat ions and laboratory findings. Fourteen patients who met the diagnostic criteria proposed by Michet et al. for RP were studied. Clinical symp toms were recorded and a detailed laboratory analysis with HLA-DR typi ng was carried out. In 2 patients arthritis was the first manifestatio n. During the follow-up, 10 patients developed arthritis. It was polya rticular in 6, and oligoarticular in 4 cases. The development of arthr itis was unrelated to the appearance of chondritis at other sites. HLA class II typing was determined in 7 patients. Six of them were positi ve for HLA-DR4. Arthritis in RP is a frequent manifestation occurring in approximately 70% of patients with an asymmetric articular involvem ent. There is no correlation between articular involvement and any par ticular clinical or laboratory feature. Susceptibility to RP is signif icantly related to the presence of HLA-DR4.