[Giant cell arteritis affecting the female genital tract. 2 case reports]

Abstract

Localisation of giant cell arteritis in the female genital organs is very rarely found in sections removed at operation, although this kind of arteritis is a systemic condition. This article reports two new cases to add to the seven cases that have already been reported in the literature. The first case was that of a woman of 78 year of age who was investigated because she had fever, dyspnoea, pains in her chest, pronounced debility and loss of weight. A salpingo-oophorectomy was carried out because she had a parovarian cyst which proved to be benign. Unexpectedly however histological examination revealed that she had giant cell arteritis in the ovary and in the tube, and this diagnosis explained the clinical picture. The second case was that of a 75 years old woman treated intermittently over two years with Prednisone for vague arthralgia. When she had had a sub-total hysterectomy with bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy because of fibroids the organs were removed in order to improve her urinary incontinence and the giant cell arteritis was discovered histologically in the uterus, the ovaries and the tubes. In this second case the unexpected diagnosis clarified the clinical picture.