title: An unusual presentation of classic polyarteritis nodosa in a child.
abstract: Classic polyarteritis nodosa (c-PAN) is a rare disease in adults and extremely rare in children. We report a 3-year-old girl with c-PAN who presented with disturbances of consciousness and hypertension. Cranial tomography showed a subarachnoid hemorrhage. Subsequent magnetic resonance imaging and magnetic resonance angiography demonstrated subarachnoid hemorrhage and acute ischemic lesions. Renal angiography revealed bilateral multiple aneurysms. Due to her constitutional symptoms and hypertension and radiological findings she was diagnosed as having c-PAN. She was successfully treated with hydralazine followed by angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor, calcium channel blocker, intravenous pulse methylprednisolone, and subsequently oral prednisolone and oral cyclophosphamide. To our knowledge this is the youngest patient with c-PAN presenting with subarachnoid hemorrhage. Malign hypertension at this young age deserves a meticulous investigation of the vascular origin. Furthermore, treatment with pulse methyl prednisolone followed by oral prednisolone and oral cyclophosphamide is a successful modality of treatment in such a life-threatening presentation of c-PAN in childhood.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, Hacettepe University, 06100 Ankara, Turkey. rtopalog@hacettepe.edu.tr
authors.forename: Rezan
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Topaloglu
authors.forename: Mediha
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kazik
authors.forename: Isil
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Saatci
authors.forename: Mukaddes
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kalyoncu
authors.forename: Barbaros E
authors.initials: BE
authors.lastname: Cil
authors.forename: Nejat
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Akalan
mesh_terms: D000208:Acute Disease; D000783:Aneurysm / Q000209:etiology*; D001921:Brain / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology; D002545:Brain Ischemia / Q000209:etiology*; D002533:Cerebral Angiography; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000209:etiology*; D002532:Intracranial Aneurysm / Q000209:etiology*; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D010488:Polyarteritis Nodosa / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy; D012077:Renal Artery; D013345:Subarachnoid Hemorrhage / Q000209:etiology*; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed