Wegener's granulomatosis
- Moorfields Eye Hospital, London, UK
- Correspondence to: Graham A Lee, Queensland, Australia; mdglee{at}hotmail.com
- Accepted 12 August 2002
Wegener's granulomatosis (WG) is a systemic granulomatous inflammatory disease of unknown origin. It occurs at any age, with the peak incidence in the third and fourth decades. The classic diagnostic triad of WG is necrotising granuloma of the upper or lower respiratory tract, vasculitis, and nephritis. Identifying a raised ANCA titre is virtually diagnostic of the disease, especially with the classic granular cytoplasmic staining pattern of neutrophils (C-ANCA).1 This disease is usually fatal if untreated; however, early diagnosis and instigation of immunosuppressants such as cyclophosphamide can induce long term remission.2
Case report
A 79 year old woman presented with a 2 week history of a painful, red left eye. She had mild arthritis and was also noted to be profoundly deaf, requiring hand written notes for communication. There was no history of sinus problems.
Her best …
