Cricoarytenoid arthritis presenting as cardiopulmonary arrest

We describe a patient with a long history of rheumatoid arthritis who presented in full cardiopulmonary arrest. He was given intracardiac epinephrine. Fibroptic laryngoscopy determined the cause of the arrest to be upper airway obstruction from cricoarytenoid joint ankylosis, a complication of long-standing rheumatoid arthritis. The patient underwent a tracheostomy, recovered uneventfully, and was doing well nine months later. The literature is reviewed, and the pathophysiology, clinical findings, presentations, and treatment of this potentially fatal entity are described.