Takayasu's Arteritis: A Rare Case in a Young Female Caucasian, Provisionally Diagnosed by Ultrasound in a District General Hospital

Abstract

Takayasu's arteritis (TA) is a rare disease with non-specific clinical signs and symptoms, and an unpredictable natural history that poses a problem for diagnosis and treatment. It is an inflammatory and obliterating disease of the medium and large arteries. Its aetiology is unknown. TA is most common in East Asia and appears to affect young females mainly. This case describes the use of ultrasound in the provisional diagnosis of TA in a young female Caucasian, with a complicated medical history, admitted to a District General Hospital (DGH).