Capillaroscopic findings in Turkish Takayasu arteritis patients

Abstract

Background/aim: Abnormal capillaroscopic findings have been reported in vasculitic syndromes such as Behçet's disease, Henoch-Schönlein purpura, and Wegener's granulomatosis. This study was conducted to define the capillaroscopic changes in patients with Takayasu arteritis (TA). Materials and methods: We studied 28 TA patients (27 females). The nail folds from the 2nd to 5th fingers on both hands were examined with video capillaroscopy for all. A patient was defined as having an abnormal capillaroscopic examination if more than 1 morphologic abnormality was present in at least 2 nail folds. Results: The median capillary density of TA patients was 9 (range: 9-11). There were no patients with capillary disorganization or avascular areas. Tortuous capillaries were detected in all patients. The other common morphological capillary abnormalities included enlarged/dilated capillaries (39.3%), branching capillaries (35.7%), and hemorrhages (32.1%). Only 1 patient had giant capillaries with early scleroderma-like pattern. Overall, there were 11 (39.3%) patients with abnormal capillaroscopic findings. There were more patients with abnormal capillaroscopic findings in the subgroup of TA patients whose upper extremity blood pressure could not be measured as compared to those whose blood pressure could be measured (66.7% vs. 26.3% patients; P = 0.04). Conclusion: Capillaroscopic abnormalities are frequently seen in TA patients. We consider that abnormal capillaroscopic findings in TA patients reflect the impaired blood flow due to narrowed or occluded arteries rather than the primary capillary involvement of the disease process.

Cerebrovascular Ischemic Events in Patients With Takayasu Arteritis

“…24 Some data support a microvascular involvement like retinopathy in TA and may explain why supra-aortic branch involvement does not explain all cerebrovascular ischemic events in patients with TA. 25,26 Aspirin treatment was associated with stroke or TIA in univariate analysis (44 events in 229 patients without treatment and 18 events in 71 patients with treatment). This is probably biased by the fact some of the patients in our cohort had a history of cerebrovascular ischemic event, and the association was not significant in multivariate analysis.…”

“…During follow-up, of the 37 patients with a history of TIA or stroke, 20 (54%) experienced a TIA or stroke recurrence. The 2-, 5-, 10-, and 15-year cumulative incidence of cerebrovascular ischemic event was 49% (31-65) versus 9% (6)(7)(8)(9)(10)(11)(12)(13)(14), 53% (34-68) versus 12% (8)(9)(10)(11)(12)(13)(14)(15)(16)(17), 58% (37-74) versus 19% (13)(14)(15)(16)(17)(18)(19)(20)(21)(22)(23)(24)(25)(26)(27), and 58% (37-74) versus 26.6% (18)(19)(20)(21)(22)(23)(24)(25)(26)(27)(28)(29)(30)(31)(32)(33)(34)…”

Evaluation of Coronavirus Disease-2019 Patients with Nailfold Capillaroscopy

“…In clinical practice, it is mostly used as a diagnostic method in patients with systemic sclerosis and dermatomyositis with Raynaud's syndrome 7,13 . In the literature, abnormal NFC have also been found in primary vasculitides such as Behçet's disease, Henoch-Schönlein purpura, Takayasu arteritis and granulomatous polyangiitis [14][15][16][17] . It is also important that NFC may detect NFC changes at an early stage, especially in patients with systemic sclerosis 18 .…”

Assessments of Perfusion, Blood Flow, and Vascular Structure in Ambulatory Subjects: Guidance for Translational Research Scientists

“…Similarly, angiogenesis occurs in both health and disease and may not be a fully reliable indicator of a clinical condition. With outcomes such as hemorrhage, this can be attributed to bleeding from capillaries in cases of localized trauma, but also in diseases such as Takayasu’s arteritis [8].…”