Retrospective analysis of gastrointestinal pathology associated with Takayasu arteritis

Abstract

Background: Takayasu arteritis (TA) is a systemic vasculitis, affecting mainly large aortal branches. AT is considered to be a rare disease [1]. TA actual frequency in the general population is not estimated due to a number of objective and subjective factors [2]. Gastrointestinal (GI) diseases in TA patients are not sufficiently studied. GI involvement can be a consequence of the main pathological process as well as drug treatment complication. The need to analyze the frequency and structure associated with at lesions of the digestive system determines the relevance of this work.Objective: in a retrospective cohort study to assess the frequency and structure of TA-associated GI pathology.Materials and methods: a retrospective cohort study included 183 patients with verifi ed TA. All had been hospitalized and observed in the Sverdlovsk regional Clinical Hospital 1 from 1979 to 2018, and were examined according to the clinical guidelines valid by the period of hospitalization. The results of 22 fatal cases autopsies were also analyzed. The study was approved by the local Ethical Committee, the Sverdlovsk Regional Clinical Hospital 1.Results: GI diseases were registered in 70 (38%) of the cohort 183 participants. The most frequently registered GI disease was chronic gastritis (28 cases; 40%), nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (22 cases; 31%), chronic pancreatitis (33 cases; 47%). Meanwhile, GI lesion was confi rmed in 20 cases of autopsy (87%). Moreover, 2 tumors of the stomach and hepar were revealed only postmortem.Conclusion: the data obtained emphasize the importance of more thorough clinical and instrumental monitoring of the GI tract in TA patients.