Mixed connective tissue disease after exposure to polyvinyl chloride.

Abstract

We present 4 patients fulfilling criteria for mixed connective tissue disease (MCTD) with anti-RNP antibodies, who had been previously exposed, in 4 different professions, to polyvinyl chloride. This presentation is clinically and serologically different from the classical polyvinyl chloride disease in which no such antibody can be found. Already observed in patients after cosmetic surgery, MCTD could also be a result of toxic exposure.