Takayasu's arteritis in association with tuberculosis in a young woman

A possible relationship between Takayasu's arteritis (TA) and Tuberculosis (TB) has been proposed. Both diseases present similar chronic inflammatory lesions and occasionally granulomas on the arterial walls. We report a case of simultaneous presence of Takayasu's arteritis and tuberculosis in a 20 year old lady. She presented with fever, pain and intermittent claudication of all four limbs and easy fatigability for two months. We found an enlarged lymph node in left axillary region. All the peripheral pulses were absent and measurement of blood pressure was not possible. Her ESR was 62 mm in first hour and C reactive protein was 12mg/L. Duplex vascular USG revealed significant narrowing of both subclavian arteries and descending abdominal aorta. Histopathology of left axillary lymph node showed caseating tubercles suggestive of granulamatous tuberculous lymphadenitis. (author)