Pediatric Takayasu Arteritis: A Review of the Literature

Abstract

Abstract: Takayasu arteritis (TA) is the third most common vasculitis of childhood and is extreme-ly rare. It is mainly characterized by chronic, autoimmune, and granulomatous inflammation of the aorta and its major branches. Women under 40 years of age are mostly affected. It occurs for the first time in childhood in about 30% of affected individuals. Initially, it presents nonspecific consti-tutional findings. Since there is no specific laboratory finding, diagnosis is challenging. The gold standard imaging method for diagnosis is conventional angiography. Delay in diagnosis can cause devastating consequences. Therefore, in cases presenting with nonspecific findings, with hyperten-sion and high acute phase reactants, the diagnosis should be suspected and confirmed with appro-priate imaging method, and treatment should be started immediately. Immunosuppressive agents are the mainstay of the treatment. Biological agents are successful in refractory cases, and endovascular revascularization methods are used in the treatment of complications.