ENT Wegener's granulomatosis can hide severe central nervous system involvement

The clinical manifestations of localised or early systemic forms of Wegener's granulomatosis (WG) do not require immediate treatment to save the patient's life and/or the function of a vital organ. The organs mainly involved are the ear, nose, throat (ENT) and lung, and the results of antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA) assays are frequently negative. We here describe three cases of the ANCA-negative early systemic form of WG with prevalent ENT involvement complicated by severe central nervous system (CNS) disease; in two cases, the only symptom was a mild headache. We conclude that, although apparently mild, the localised and early systemic forms of WG can hide CNS involvement and may require immediate treatment. This complication should be suspected and investigated in the case of patients with localised or early systemic disease especially in the presence of ENT involvement and negative ANCA assays.