title: Successful treatment of dissecting aortic aneurysm due to giant cell arteritis.
abstract: A 72-year-old women with polymyalgia rheumatica clinically controlled on maintenance steroid therapy presented with symptoms of chest pain and numbness in the right arm. A diagnosis of dissecting aortic aneurysm was confirmed at thoracotomy and the aorta was successfully resected. Histology revealed active giant cell aortitis. We suggest that a normal erythrocyte sedimentation rate in patients with treated temporal arteritis does not preclude large vessel involvement.
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000784:Aortic Dissection / Q000209:etiology* / Q000601:surgery; D001014:Aortic Aneurysm / Q000209:etiology* / Q000601:surgery; D005260:Female; D013700:Giant Cell Arteritis / Q000150:complications*; D006801:Humans