Otolaryngological manifestations of rheumatic diseases in children.

Rheumatic diseases represent a group of autoimmune conditions which primarily affect the musculo-skeletal system but can also involve other internal organs such as the auditory and the respiratory systems. Among the rheumatic diseases of children those which present an otolaryngological involvement at disease onset or during their course are essentially juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA), Cogan syndrome (CS), relapsing polycondritis (RPC) and Wegener granulomatosis (WG). In this section, we will review the main characteristics of these conditions with the attempt to propose a few elements for an easy differential diagnosis which might help for an early diagnosis and a more appropriate treatment.