Arteritis
| Arteritis | |
|---|---|
| Classification and external resources | |
| Specialty | rheumatology |
| ICD-10 | I77.6, M31 |
| ICD-9-CM | 447.6 |
| DiseasesDB | 13750 |
| MeSH | D001167 |
Arteritis is the inflammation of the walls of arteries, usually as a result of infection or autoimmune response. Arteritis, a complex disorder, is still not entirely understood. Arteritis may be distinguished by its different types, based on the organ systems affected by the disease. A complication of arteritis is thrombosis, which can be fatal. Arteritis and phlebitis are forms of vasculitis.
Arteritis may be primary or secondary to some other disease process. The primary types are:
An example of a secondary arteritis is arteritis caused by infection with the fungal pathogen Candida albicans.
Giant cell arteritis contains two different types of arteritides that are almost indistinguishable from one another. It includes two types,e temporal arteritis and Takayasu arteritis. Both types contain an occupancy of medium- and larger-sized arteries which are categorized based on the infiltration of the giant cells.
This type of arteritis is most common in females, with a median age of 25 years. Takayasu arteritis is more common in women of Asian descent who are in their reproductive years. However, over the past decades, its incidence in Africa, Europe, and North America has been increasing. Takayasu arteritis is an inflammatory disease that mainly affects the larger vessels such as the aorta and its surrounding branches. Research focused on Takayasu arteritis in the western parts of the world remains limited. An estimation suggests that, each year, the number of cases per million people is 2.6.
Temporal arteritis, the second type of giant cell arteritis, is also a chronic, inflammatory disease involving mid- to large-sized arteries. Temporal arteritis has a higher incidence in people of Scandinavian descent. However, the incidence rate differs based on population, region and races. Temporal arteritis is not uncommon in North America. The incidence rate is around 0.017% for individuals over 50 years of age.
Symptoms of temporal arteritis are classified as specific and nonspecific.
Nonspecific symptoms:
Specific symptoms:
Specific symptoms usually develop in the advanced stages of temporal arteritis.
Polyarteritis nodosa of unknown mechanism can cause testiscular pain. It is often associated with aneurysms and Hepatitis B.
Symptoms of general arteritis may include:
Diagnosis of arteritis is based on unusual medical symptoms. Similar symptoms may be caused by a number of other conditions, such as Ehlers-Danlos syndrome and Marfan syndrome (both heritable disorders of connective tissue), tuberculosis, syphilis, spondyloarthropathies, Cogans’ syndrome, Buerger's, Behcet's, and Kawasaki disease. Various imaging techniques may be used to diagnose and monitor disease progression. Imaging modalities may include direct angiography, magnetic resonance angiography, and ultrasonography.
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