[A case report of relapsing polychondritis with an auricular ulcer complicated by systemic sclerosis]

A 35-year-old male patient presented with left auricular ulcer following swelling and redness of the left auricle in the beginning of June 2001. Since 1996, he has been suffering from scleroderma at the fingers and face with Raynaud's phenomenon under a diagnosis of systemic sclerosis. On 1997, partial perforation of his nasal septum was pointed out by an otolaryngologist, which was, however, untreated. He sometimes suffered from swelling and redness in both auricles and from polyarthralgia since 1999. On June 11th, 2001, hemorrhage and pus discharge under an infection by Pseudomonas aeruginosa started on the painful ulcer in the left auricle, which were not improved by the treatment with antibiotics but improved by an administration of prednisolone at dose of 15 mg/day. Head MRI taken on October 2nd, 2001, showed a partial defect in the nasal septum with a length of 10 mm. The patient was considered as a rare case of a complication of relapsing polychondritis and systemic sclerosis.