Do We Have a Culprit? An Association of Giant Cell Arteritis with Pulmonary Embolism

Miguel Gonçalves, Carolina; Neves Tavares, Pedro; Saraiva, Fátima; Morais, João; Banza, Maria Jesus

http://hdl.handle.net/10400.8/8627

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Authors

Miguel Gonçalves, Carolina

Abstract(s)

Giant cell arteritis is the most common type of systemic vasculitis. An increased risk of venous thromboembolism has been described in these patients. We report the case of a 79-year-old woman with a history of polymyalgia rheumatica, who presented with left thoracic pain radiating to the neck and scapula plus temporal headache. She had no changes on physical examination, but work-up tests showed increased D-dimer levels and computed tomography pulmonary angiography revealed signs of a chronic/subacute embolism in the right inferior lobe. Anticoagulation with edoxaban was started after 5 day bridging with enoxaparin. Three weeks after the initial diagnosis the headache still persisted and she developed scalp tenderness. Giant cell arteritis was diagnosed and treated with prednisolone, with complete resolution of symptoms. Extensive diagnostic work-up was performed to identify an alternative cause of pulmonary thromboembolism; however, the investigations were negative. This case supports the hypothesis that this type of vasculitis could be related to the occurrence of pulmonary embolism.

Keywords

Giant cell arteritis Pulmonary embolism

URI

http://hdl.handle.net/10400.8/8627

Citation

Miguel Gonçalves C, Neves Tavares P, Saraiva F, Morais J, Banza MJ. Do We Have a Culprit? An Association of Giant Cell Arteritis with Pulmonary Embolism. EJCRIM 2022;9 doi:10.12890/2022_003028.