ABSTRACT
Takayasu's arteritis is a rare systemic vasculitis affecting the aorta and its primary branches. In developing countries, it is often associated with late diagnosis and high morbidity and mortality. We report a case of Takayasu's arteritis diagnosed in the postpartum period and discuss the challenges faced for optimal outcomes during the ongoing coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic.
ABSTRACT
A 53-year-old man with diabetes came to the emergency department with fever and dry cough for 5 days, swelling of the left leg for 2 days, shortness of breath and chest pain for 1 hour. He had raised temperature, tachycardia, tachypnoea, reduced oxygen saturation and swollen tender left leg on examination. The frontal chest radiograph showed bilateral ground-glass opacities; he tested positive for COVID-19 with elevated D-dimer. The colour Doppler examination of the left leg revealed acute deep vein thrombosis (DVT) of the common femoral and the popliteal veins. The chest CT showed bilateral diffuse ground-glass opacities predominantly involving peripheral zones and the lower lobes. The CTPA revealed left pulmonary thromboembolism (PTE), treated with low-molecular-weight heparin. COVID-19 predominantly affects the respiratory system. DVT and PTE are common in COVID-19 but lethal. They should be diagnosed early by clinical and radiological examinations and treated promptly with anticoagulants.