Aortitis in Children

Multiple Aortic Aneurysms in a 7-Year-Old Negro Child

“…These pos sibilities were easily dismissed in our patient by clinical findings and by the macro-and microscopic aspects of the aneurysms. Idiopathic (Takayashu's) aortitis, another relatively frequent cause of aneurysms in children or young adults [8,17], sometimes of the saccular type [7,9,20], was likewise not considered to be operative in our patient. Indeed, idiopathic (Takayashu's) aortitis manifests itself by hypertension, cardiomegaly and frequently absence or weakness of the radial pulses [5,14,21]; the aneurysms most often consist in large fusiform-type swellings of both thoracic and abdominal aorta with areas showing obstructive lesions due to proliferative changes [14,21]; microscopically, there is a panarteritis affecting localized areas of the aorta.…”

“…Several authors have described an idiopathic aortitis occurring in Bantu children [9][10][11][12]. Major presenting features in these children were symp toms of sustained and constant elevation in blood pressure due to renal artery obstruction.…”

Review of children with Takayasu’s arteritis at a Southern African tertiary care centre

“…Several reviews and case reports on Takayasu’s arteritis in children have emerged from Southern Africa over the past 50 years since the first publication by Isaacson et al in 1959, 32 the majority of which have emanated from Cape Town, South Africa. The last publication to document patients from Gauteng was 18 years ago in 1998 20 (Table 4).…”

Abdominal aortic aneurysm in the African patient

“…Adolescence.-In recent years a peculiar type of aortitis has been recognized in African children and adolescents (Isaacson and Wayburne, 1957;Isaacson, Klachko, Wayburne, and Simson, 1959;Jacobson, 1960;Isaacson, 1961;Shnier, 1962). This takes the form of a panarteritis with infiltration of the adventitia by lymphocytes and plasma cells, disruption of the muscle and elastica of the media, and fibrous thickening of the intima, often with superimposed thrombosis.…”