Takayasu arteritis presenting as severe ascending aortic arch dilation and aortic regurgitation in a 10-year-old female

Abstract

Takayasu arteritis (TA) is a large-vessel arteritis affecting the aorta and its major branches. It is a rare disease in children less than 10 years old, and its diagnosis is frequently delayed, likely because of TA's rarity and nonspecific symptoms early in the disease. Females are affected disproportionately, with a female to male ratio of 8.5 to 1. Recently, the European League against Rheumatism published an international consensus statement for making the diagnosis of childhood TA. Criteria include angiographic abnormalities of the aorta and/or its branches, pulse deficit or claudication, blood pressure discrepancy, bruits, hypertension, and elevated acute phase reactants. We described a 10-year-old female with severe TA of the ascending aorta and who presented with classic signs and symptoms of this rare disease. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.