[Chronic atrophic polychondritis. Critical analysis of the therapeutic efficacy of dapsone. 2 cases]

Dapsone has been used since 1976 in the treatment of relapsing polychondritis. A critical analysis of its therapeutic effectiveness based on 2 personal cases and 14 cases reported in the literature, all treated with dapsone alone, showed that treatment had to be discontinued in 4 on account of side effects (haemolytic anaemia, erythema multiforme, somnolence, headache, nausea); 1 patient showed no improvement and 5 relapsed; 6 responded favourably and without relapse during a 3 months' to 4 years' follow-up. Considering the unpredictable course of relapsing polychondritis and the fact that some of its clinical manifestations, notably auricular chondritis, may spontaneously resolve, the response of the disease to dapsone is difficult to establish and requires to be confirmed by a controlled clinical trial.