Wegener's granulomatosis in which rheumatoid factor was useful for evaluating the disease status: A case report

Abstract

Introduction: Accurate evaluation of disease status is very important in treatment of Wegener's granulomatosis Case presentation: A 73-year-old Japanese man presented with chronic sinusitis and otitis media. He was admitted to our hospital because of bilateral lung nodules. Cytoplasmic antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody was negative but his rheumatoid factor was high. He was diagnosed with limited Wegener's granulomatosis and received remission induction therapy. His serum rheumatoid factor level correlated with the Wegener's granulomatosis state when he experienced a severe infection and recurrence due to Wegener's granulomatosis. Conclusion: We describe a case of Wegener's granulomatosis in which rheumatoid factor was helpful for evaluating the therapeutic effect. © 2009 Oshita et al; licensee Cases Network Ltd.