First case of childhood Takayasu arteritis from Syria: a case report

Abstract

Background: Takayasu arteritis is a systemic granulomatous inflammation affecting the large- and medium-sized vessels such as aorta, its main branches, and pulmonary and renal arteries. Childhood Takayasu arteritis is a subtype of Takayasu arteritis that affects the age group ranging from young infants to late adolescents. Case presentation: We report the first childhood Takayasu arteritis case from Syria, a 12-year-old Syrian girl presenting with nonspecific symptoms and signs plus ischemic clinical features in her left arm. She relapsed twice with different additional symptoms each time. Conclusions: There is scarcity of reviews and studies on childhood Takayasu arteritis in Arabs. We aim to share our experience to keep childhood Takayasu arteritis in mind as a differential diagnosis in any child presenting with hypertension, absent or reduced peripheral arterial pulse, or blood pressure differences between extremities.