Patterns of clinical presentation in Takayasu's arteritis

OBJECTIVE: Takayasu's arteritis (TAK) is a clinically heterogenous disease. Patterns of clinical presentation in TAK at diagnosis have not been well described, and a "triphasic pattern" of constitutional symptoms evolving into vascular inflammation and fibrosis has been reported but never systematically evaluated. METHODS: Patients with TAK were prospectively recruited from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Vasculitis Clinical …