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Clinical and radiographic features mimicking pulmonary embolism as the first manifestation of Takayasu’s arteritis

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Abstract

The current report describes a female patient with Takayasu’s arteritis who was hospitalized because of respiratory complaints and a ventilation-perfusion (V/P) scan demonstrating severe perfusion defects with normal ventilation. Her symptoms and V/P scan results were initially interpreted as massive pulmonary embolism, but a spiral computed tomography (CT) of the chest and a repeated lung scan indicated inflammatory involvement of the pulmonary artery accounting for the positive lung scan study. Review of her medical records from 17 years ago revealed that similar symptoms and a positive V/P scan were the initial features of her disease.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Dr. Arkady Chepovsky, for referring the patient to us and for providing us with crucial information related to her past medical history.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Medicine A, Hadassah-Hebrew University Medical Center, POB 12000, 91120, Jerusalem, Israel

    Amir Shlomai, Alon Y. Hershko, Ezra Gabbay & Eldad Ben-Chetrit

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  1. Amir Shlomai
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  2. Alon Y. Hershko
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  3. Ezra Gabbay
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  4. Eldad Ben-Chetrit
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Correspondence to Amir Shlomai.

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Shlomai, A., Hershko, A.Y., Gabbay, E. et al. Clinical and radiographic features mimicking pulmonary embolism as the first manifestation of Takayasu’s arteritis. Clin Rheumatol 23, 470–472 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10067-004-0929-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10067-004-0929-0

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