Aortitis is inflammation of the aorta, sometimes causing aneurysm or occlusion.
Aortitis is rare, but potentially life threatening.
Aortitis is caused by
Systemic rheumatic diseases (eg, Takayasu arteritis, giant cell arteritis, ankylosing spondylitis, Behçet disease, immunoglobulin G4-related disease, relapsing polychondritis)
Infections (eg, bacterial endocarditis, syphilis, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, fungal infections)
© 2017 Elliot K. Fishman, MD.
© 2017 Elliot K. Fishman, MD.
It is also a feature of Cogan syndrome (inflammatory keratitis, vestibular and auditory dysfunction, and aortitis).
Inflammation usually involves all layers of the aorta (intima, media, adventitia) and may lead to occlusion of the aorta or its branches or weakening of the arterial wall, resulting in an aortic aneurysm.
Pathogenesis, symptoms and signs, diagnosis, and treatment differ by etiology.
However, the general principle for treatment is to treat the underlying disorder.
Patients with idiopathic aortitis may benefit from treatment with glucocorticoids (1).
Reference
1. Rojo-Leyva F, Ratliff NB, Cosgrove DM 3rd, Hoffman GS. Study of 52 patients with idiopathic aortitis from a cohort of 1,204 surgical cases. Arthritis Rheum 2000;43(4):901-907. doi:10.1002/1529-0131(200004)43:4<901::AID-ANR23>3.0.CO;2-U
