Rupture of a non-aneurysmatic aortic trunk in a patient with giant cell arteritis

1 Temporal arteritis is sometimes the first evident sign of a more disseminated disease and involvement of all the larger arteries including the aorta has been observed. 2 Many studies describe appearance of murmurs and the formation of aortic aneurysms in patients suffering from temporal arteritis. 3 Weak extremity pulses, arm claudication and colour changes of Raynaud's phenomenon type may occur, symptoms resulting from the narrowing or occlusion of branches of the thoracic aorta. 2 Death from rupture of aneurysms in giant cell arteritis is well documented. 3 4 It has also been suggested that the extra-articular disease polymyalgia rheumatica 5 is an expression of the generalised form of giant cell arteritis and the name polymyalgia arteritica may be more appropriate. 6 A 74 year old woman was admitted to the university hospital in Lund because of tenderness over the right masseter muscle. On admission the erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) was 42 mm 1st h and serum electrophoretic analysis indicated slight inflammatory activity.