Relapsing polychondritis is a systemic disorder with recurrent episodes of inflammation involving cartilage. Damiani and Levine listed criteria for its diagnosis.
Criteria of Damiani and Levine - one or more of the following:
(1) 3 or more of the MacAdam criteria (see below), with or without histologic confirmation
(2) 1 or more of the McAdam criteria, with histologic confirmation
(3) chondritis in 2 or more separate anatomic locations, with a clinical response to corticosteroids, dapsone or both
Criteria of McAdam et al - 3 or more of the following (with or without histologic confirmation):
(1) recurrent chondritis of both auricles (swelling, pain and erythema of the helix, antihelix, tragus and/or external auditory canal, with sparing of the inferior lobule)
(2) nonerosive inflammatory arthritis
(3) chondritis of the nasal cartilage
(4) ocular inflammation
(5) chondritis of the larynx, trachea, or both
(6) damage to the cochlea, vestibule or both, with hearing loss and tinnitus, or vertigo, or both
where:
• In the implementation, I counted the following as separate anatomic locations for the second modified criteria: one or both ears, nasal cartilage, larynx and/or trachea, inner ear. Joint and eye involvement were not included as written.
