IgG4-related disease in a Chinese cohort: a prospective study.

Objectives: To report the clinical, laboratory, and histological characteristics in a cohort of 28 Chinese patients with immunoglobulin G4-related disease (IgG4-RD).Method: The patients were admitted to, or were out-patients in, Peking Union Medical College Hospital (PUMCH) between January 2011 and May 2012 according to the criteria for IgG4-RD. Clinical presentations, imaging studies, serum Ig subclass assays, and histological examinations were performed in all patients.Results: The 28 patients (male-to-female ratio 1.8:1) enrolled in this study had a mean age at onset of disease of 51.5 years and the duration of symptoms before diagnosis was 20.4 months; 57% of the patients presented with a history of allergic disease. The most common symptoms were salivary and lacrimal gland swelling, and abdominal pain. Most patients (93%) presented with multiple organ involvement. Elevated erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) and C-reactive protein (CRP) levels were observed in 16 (57%) and seven (25%) patients, resp...