Asymptomatic coronary aneurysms in a patient with eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis who developed a digital gangrene

Abstract

A 33-year-old male with a history of bronchial asthma and allergic rhinitis was diagnosed with eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis (EGPA) eight years ago. The diagnosis was based on the presence of fever, remarkable eosinophilia, and painful digital ulcer. His signs and symptoms improved with a moderate dose of glucocorticoids. Thereafter, he was lost to follow-up, failing to attend any of the scheduled appointments. Three years later, he presented with painful digital gangrene on the lateral fold of the right ring fingernail and abdominal pain triggered by meals. Angiography showed multiple occlusions and severe stenoses of the peripheral arteries and coronary aneurysms, which confirmed the diagnosis of medium vessel vasculitis of the coronary and peripheral arteries due to flare up of EGPA. EGPA predominantly affects the small-sized vessels, but rarely the medium-sized vessels. Coronary vasculitis might occur asymptomatically, until the coronary stenosis becomes severe or myocardial infarction develops; hence, its prevalence is underestimated. In this case, a digital gangrene prompted us to perform a systemic angiography, leading to the diagnosis of coronary vasculitis. Careful observation for coronary lesions is necessary in patients with EGPA who develop digital gangrene.

Keywords:

• Eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis
• coronary vasculitis
• coronary aneurysm; digital gangrene; Five-Factor Score

Patient consent

The patient provided written informed consent for the publication of this case report.

Ethical approval

Approval by clinical ethical committee of Hiroshima University Hospital was waived by the regulations.

Conflict of interest

None.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported in part by JSPS KAKENHI [Grant Number 19K18499 to S.M., 19K07940 to S.H. and 19K08908 to E.S.].