The Epidemiology and Clinical Manifestations of Takayasu Arteritis: A Descriptive Study of Case Reports

Abstract

Takayasu's arteritis is a rare form of chronic inflammatory disorder involving large vessels, with an unclear etiology. Common early signs and symptoms are weakness, malaise, and fever. Takayasu's arteritis mainly involves the aorta and its branches as well as the subclavian and carotid arteries. While radiologic methods can identify diseased vessels, they can't tell the difference between active and chronic lesions. This study reviews the characteristics of Takayasu's arteritis to identify any possible changes in the prevalence of symptoms of the disease. We conducted a literature review of case reports on Takayasu arteritis from PubMed and Google Scholar. Variables of interest were age, gender, symptoms, blood pressure (BP) measurement, diminished pulses, and radiological findings. Data were transferred to an Excel spreadsheet (Microsoft Corporation, Redmond, WA), and mean, median, and standard deviation, frequencies, and proportions were calculated using R version 1.1.456 (RStudio: Integrated Development for R. RStudio, PBC, Boston, MA). There were 43 cases, and females accounted for 88.3% of the presentations. The average age was 25 years, SD 12.5 years. Fever was the most frequent symptom (20.93%), followed by chest pain (13.95%), claudication (13.95%), and headache (13.95%). Less frequent complaints included shortness of breath (11.62%), weight loss (9.30%), syncope (6.98%), and night sweats (4.65%). On the right side, the average BP was 142/87 mmHg, and the left-sided finding averaged 115/72 mmHg. Decreased pulses were primarily seen in the radial artery with 15 cases. Radiological findings showed narrowing of the vessels in the following order: aorta (22), carotid (11), renal (10), subclavian (9), celiac (2), mesenteric (2), axillary (2), and tibial (1). The characteristics of Takayasu's arteritis were analyzed in this study. It identified several findings, ranging from fever symptoms to the signs of claudication, as well as the involvement of major vessels, such as the aorta and its branches, and a summary of radiological findings. This depicts the picture of Takayasu's arteritis and what physicians should expect when dealing with the disease.

Keywords: claudication; granulomatous inflammatory vasculitis; pulseless disease; takayasu disease; transmural fibrous thickening of the arterial walls.