Rheumatoid interstitial lung disease presenting as cor pulmonale

Abstract

Rheumatiod arthritis (RA) is a multisystem connective tissue disorder. The predominant presentation is polyarticular, symmetric peripheral arthritis with relative sparing of axial skeleton. Inflammatory synovitis is the pathologic hallmark. Extra-articular manifestations of RA can involve several other organ systems and amongst them pulmonary manifestations occur commonly. We report a case of rheumatoid interstitial lung disease presenting as cor pulmonale.

Keywords

• Axial
• cor pulmonale
• polyarticular
• pulmonary
• rheumatoid arthritis
• skeleton
• synovitis