CASE REPORTS   

International Angiology 2005 June;24(2):202-5

Copyright © 2005 EDIZIONI MINERVA MEDICA

lingua: Inglese

Bilateral axillobrachial and external carotid artery manifestation of giant cell arteritis: important role of color duplex ultrasonography in the diagnosis

Kolossváry E. ¹, Kollár A. ², Pintér H. ³, Erényi É. ⁴, Kiséry I. ⁵, Péter H. ³, Farkas K. ¹, Mogán L. ⁵, Farsang C. ¹, Kiss I. ¹

¹ 1st Department of Internal Medicine, St Imre Municipal Hospital, Budapest, Hungary 2 Department of Radiology, St Imre Municipal Hospital, Budapest, Hungary 3 Department of Neurology, St Imre Municipal Hospital, Budapest, Hungary 4 Department of Pathology, St Imre Municipal Hospital, Budapest, Hungary 5 Department of Surgery, St Imre Municipal Hospital, Budapest, Hungary

A 76-year-old man was admitted to our hospital with vertigo. Previously he had been extensively examined because of an increased erythrocyte sedimentation rate without any clinical symptoms. Physical examination revealed 60 mmHg blood pressure difference between the two arms. Color duplex ultrasound examination revealed bilateral extreme narrowing of the external carotid and axillobrachial artery with a dark, hypo-echoic halo around the lumen. This condition was recognized as a specific sign for giant cell arteritis (GCA), described originally in cases of temporal arteritis. The diagnosis was confirmed by biopsy of the temporal artery. In contrast to the typical cranial form of GCA - our patient showed an unusual, bilateral large-vessel manifestation. The diagnosis was based on ultrasound images rather than on symptoms that characterize the well-known temporal form. This observation emphasizes the role of color duplex ultrasonography in the diagnosis and follow-up of GCA.