Intestinal perforation in temporal arteritis, associated with paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria

Abstract

Temporal arteritis (TA) is an adult-onset, focal granulomatous inflammatory disorder of the small and medium sized arteries. Intestinal perforation is a rare complication of TA. Regarding its etiology, steroid-induced or arteritis-induced ulceration have been proposed. We describe a patient who developed TA in addition to preceding paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria. During steroid therapy for TA, intestinal perforation manifested, and it was proven to be arteritis induced perforation on histological examinations. The patient may be the 5th reported case of TA complicated with arteritis-induced intestinal perforation. The possibility of polyangitis overlap syndrome of TA and polyarteritis nodosa is discussed.