Relapsing Polychondritis
Aparche Yang, MD, FAAD
Sharon Jacob, MD
Key Facts
Terminology
Chronic multisystem disease characterized by remitting and relapsing inflammation and destruction of cartilaginous and other proteoglycan-rich tissue
Clinical Issues
Diagnostic criteria (3 of 6 required)
Bilateral auricular chondritis
Non-erosive inflammatory polyarthritis
Nasal chondritis
Ocular inflammation
Respiratory tract chondritis
Audiovestibular damage
Microscopic Pathology
Early: Loss of chondrocyte basophilia, perichondritis
Late: Granulation tissue and fibrosis
Top Differential Diagnoses
Granulomatosis with polyangiitis (Wegener)
 Relapsing polychondritis shows chronic inflammation/ destruction limited to the cartilaginous ear that has led to the formation of “cauliflower” ear  . The earlobe is spared  . (Courtesy L Thompson, MD.) |
 Late RPC chondritis shows loss of chondrocyte matrix basophilia (eosinophilic matrical change)  , loss of lacunar outline/chondrocytes, and lymphocytic perichondritis  . (Courtesy L Thompson, MD.) |
TERMINOLOGY
Abbreviations
Relapsing polychondritis (RPC)
Synonyms
Polychondropathia, chondromalacia, chronic atrophic polychondritis
