The coexistence of Crohn's disease and Takayasu arteritis: Diagnosis and treatment of combined disease in three patients

50 INTRODUCTION T akayasu arteritis (TA) is a chronic granulomatous vasculitis that primarily affects the aorta and its primary branches, resulting in thickening of the walls of affected arteries (1,2). This disease results in an inflammatory process that manifests clinically with a wide range of systemic symptoms (3). Symptoms may include fatigue, weight-loss, and low-grade fever along with cool pulseless extremities, differential blood pressures in the left and right arm, claudication, hypertension, and bruits secondary to the stenotic lesions. Crohn’s disease (CD) is a granulomatous, transmural inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract most commonly affecting the ileum and cecum but may affect any portion of the small intestine and colon. The Coexistence of Crohn’s Disease and Takayasu Arteritis: Diagnosis and Treatment of Combined Disease in Three Patients A THREE-CASE REPORT