Comparison of clinical characteristics in patients with Takayasu arteritis with and without concomitant tuberculosis

Because of frequent tuberculosis in patients with Takayasu arteritis (TA), a possible relationship between TA and tuberculosis has been proposed. However, there are no studies to date that have examined clinical manifestations in patients diagnosed with TA with or without tuberculosis. Two hundred sixty-seven patients were diagnosed with TA according to the 1990 American College of Rheumatology criteria between September 1994 and April 2014. Patients with TA were classified into groups with or without tuberculosis. Among the 267 patients with TA studied, 47 patients (17.7 %) who had a history of previous treatment of tuberculosis (34 patients), concurrent diagnosis of tuberculosis with TA (10 patients), or diagnosis of tuberculosis during the follow-up period for TA (3 patients) were included in the group with tuberculosis. The group with tuberculosis comprised of 33 patients (70.2 %) with pulmonary tuberculosis, 12 patients (25.5 %) with tuberculous lymphadenitis, and 2 patients (4.3 %) with tuberculosis of the skin and colon, respectively. Comorbid disease and patients' signs and symptoms were not significantly different between TA patients with and without tuberculosis. Additionally, the site of disease involvement in angiographic findings and distribution of angiographic type were similar between the two groups. In conclusion, tuberculosis including tuberculous lymphadenitis was frequently observed in patients with TA. Clinical features and angiographic findings in TA were not different according to the presence or absence of concomitant tuberculosis.