Abstract
A 75-year-old male was admitted because of dyspnea. A chest X-ray showed interstitial shadows in both lung fields, and hematology studies revealed a normochronic anemia. Examination of bone marrow smears led to a diagnosis of myelodysplastic syndrome. The rheumatoid factor test was positive, but the patient did not have arthritis. Twenty-one months later, he began to experience joint pain and swelling, and he fulfilled the diagnostic criteria for rheumatoid arthritis. This is the first case ever reported of rheumatoid arthritis preceded by interstitial pneumonia associated with myelodysplastic syndrome.
