[Allergic granulomatous angiitis in the Churg-Strauss syndrome. Two case reports]

Abstract

The Churg-Strauss Syndrome (CSS) or allergic granulomatosis and angiitis is a relatively unusual disease. It is a subset of the group of systemic necrotizing vasculitis and the clinical manifestations involve multiple organ system. The CSS is characterized typically by three phases, asthma or atopic disease, peripheral eosinophilia and ultimately, vasculitis. The authors report two cases of CSS. The first patient presented allergic rhinitis and asthma for 19 years when she developed acute abdominal pain, mononeuritis of her right leg, pulmonary infiltrates and hypereosinophilia. The lung biopsy showed extravascular granulomas and eosinophilic infiltration. The second patient presented asthma for two years when she developed a mononeuritis of the left leg and then a hypereosinophilia with cutaneous eruption of hands and feet, and a myo-pericarditis. In both cases, treatment with prednisolone produced a dramatic improvement in symptoms and eosinophilia.