A case of polyarteritis nodosa presenting initially as peripheral vascular disease

Serge De Golovine, Sameer Parikh, Lee Lu

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

15 Scopus citations

Abstract

Polyarteritis nodosa is a rare necrotizing vasculitis that can be progressive and fatal, and its initial presenting symptom may be leg claudication due to peripheral vascular ischemia. To date, there have been fewer than ten case reports of polyarteritis nodosa presenting as peripheral vascular disease. We report a case of a 38-year-old man initially diagnosed to have premature peripheral vascular disease who presented 1 year later with symptoms consistent with giant cell arteritis and subsequently developed bowel ischemia leading to a fatal outcome. Based on the autopsy and the patient's clinical course, the final diagnosis was polyarteritis nodosa. This case illustrates the challenges in diagnosing polyarteritis nodosa and the importance of considering vasculitis in young patients presenting with atypical presentations of diseases such as peripheral vascular disease or giant cell arteritis.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)1528-1531
Number of pages4
JournalJournal of general internal medicine
Volume23
Issue number9
DOIs
StatePublished - Sep 2008

Keywords

  • Polyarteritis nodosa
  • Premature peripheral vascular disease
  • Temporal arteritis

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Internal Medicine

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