Rupture of a non-aneurysmatic aortic trunk in a patient with giant cell arteritis

Giant cell arteritis is a chronic, granulomatous inflammation of the temporal arteries that affects persons over the age of 50.1 Temporal arteritis is sometimes the first evident sign of a more disseminated disease and involvement of all the larger arteries including the aorta has been observed.2 Many studies describe appearance of murmurs and the formation of aortic aneurysms in patients suffering from temporal arteritis.3Weak extremity pulses, arm claudication and colour changes of Raynaud’s phenomenon type may occur, symptoms resulting from the narrowing or occlusion of branches of the thoracic aorta.2Death from rupture of aneurysms in giant cell arteritis is well documented.3 4 It has also been suggested that the extra-articular disease polymyalgia rheumatica5 is an expression of the generalised form of giant cell arteritis and the …