Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Relapsing polychondritis causing ear problems in cats
By Gerber, B et al.·Published in Journal of feline medicine and surgery·2002·Clinic for Small Animal Internal Medicine·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Feline relapsing polychondritis: two cases and a review of the literature.
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
A 3-year-old cat with ear problems was diagnosed with relapsing polychondritis, a rare condition that affects the cartilage. This cat, along with another case, showed symptoms like ear inflammation, and while glucocorticoids (a type of steroid) didn’t help, a medication called dapsone showed some improvement, although it caused side effects in one cat. Interestingly, some cats with this condition improved on their own without any treatment. If your cat has ear issues, it's important to consult your vet for the best course of action.
People also search for: cat ear problems · relapsing polychondritis in cats · dapsone side effects in cats
Abstract
Only 11 reports of cats with relapsing polychondritis (RPC) were found in the literature. We describe two additional cases and provide a review of the literature. Predominantly young to middle aged cats are affected (range 1.5 to 14.5 years, median 3 years). There is no sex predilection for feline RPC. In all cats with feline RPC, the ears were affected. The findings in one of our cases and one case in the literature raise the question if other organs such as the joints, the eyes or the heart may be involved in feline RPC. The histological lesions observed in biopsy samples of the ears were similar in all cats. Glucocorticoids were not effective in the treatment of RPC. Dapsone appeared to result in some clinical improvement but side effects were observed in one of four cats. Some cats improved without treatment.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12468311/