[Sore throat in rheumatoid arthritis: 2 patients with cricoarytenoid arthritis]

In two patients with chronic rheumatoid arthritis, a woman aged 65 and a man aged 56 years, cricoarytenoid arthritis was diagnosed. The symptoms were hoarseness, sore throat and stridor. In both patients a narrowed glottic fissure was found. In one patient tracheostomy was necessary to guarantee a free airway; in the other, therapy with local corticosteroid injections (triamcinolone), combined with immunosuppressive therapy (prednisone), was effective. Early detection through anamnesis and laryngoscopy allows early therapy with a good prognosis.