Horner syndrome as a manifestation of an exacerbation of Takayasu’s arteritis

Purpose Takayasu’s arteritis is a chronic, granulomatous, large vessel vasculitis affecting the aorta and its large branches, and occurring most commonly in young women. It is the third most frequently diagnosed vasculitis in childhood. Generally, symptoms reflect ischemia to an affected organ or limb. A small percentage of patients develop neurologic symptoms such as visual disturbances, transient ischemic attacks (TIA’s) or stroke. Horner syndrome is an unusual manifestation of Takayasu’s, with only a single reported case of an adult patient in whom Horner syndrome was the presenting manifestation of Takayasu’s arteritis. We present a 14 year old with a history of Takayasu’s arteritis who developed Horner syndrome during the course of the illness.