Takayasu's arteritis associated with crescentic glomerulonephritis

Abstract

We describe the initial course and followup of a 16-year-old white female patient who presented in 1983 with aortitis and rapidly progressive renal failure. Renal biopsy revealed crescentic glomerulonephritis. Segmental occlusions of the distal aorta and both common iliac arteries were demonstrated on aortography. Initially, her renal function and arterial occlusions markedly improved with pulse prednisolone therapy, but 34 months later, the glomerulonephritis and aortitis worsened. This case report, the first of its kind, documents both the association of Takayasu's arteritis with crescentic glomerulonephritis and a marked, though incomplete, response to pulse therapy.