Relapsing polychondritis
Meaning of relapsing polychondritis: For the purposes of this Statement of Principles, relapsing polychondritis means a systemic autoimmune disease characterised by episodic, progressive inflammatory destruction of cartilaginous structures and connective tissue throughout the body, predominantly affecting the ears, nose, eyes, joints and respiratory tract. (3) While relapsing polychondritis attracts ICD-10-AM code M94.1, in applying this Statement of Principles the meaning of relapsing polychondritis is that given in subsection (2). (4) For subsection (3), a reference to an ICD-10-AM code is a reference to the code assigned to a particular kind of injury or disease in The International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, Tenth Revision, Australian Modification (ICD-10-AM), Ninth Edition, effective date of 1 July 2015, copyrighted by the Independent Hospital Pricing Authority, ISBN 978-1-76007-020-5.
Reasonable Hypothesis (RH) — Statement of Principles No. 5 of 2017
At least one of the following factors must as a minimum exist before it can be said that a reasonable hypothesis has been raised connecting relapsing polychondritis or death from relapsing polychondritis with the circumstances of a person's relevant service:
- (1)receiving treatment with a tumour necrosis factor alpha inhibitor within the three months before the clinical onset of relapsing polychondritis;
- (2)inability to obtain appropriate clinical management for relapsing polychondritis;
Aggravation-only factors: the factors in subsection 9(2) apply only to material contribution to, or aggravation of, the condition where it was suffered or contracted before or during (but did not arise out of) the person’s relevant service.
