GIANT-CELL ARTERITIS OF THE FEMALE GENITAL-TRACT

A 56-year-old woman with long-lasting fever of unknown origin was diag nosed as having a giant-cell arteritis of the genital tract with no ev idence of temporal arteritis. Diagnosis relied on pathological examina tion, which showed a segmental panarteritis of ovaries, myometrium, en dometrium and uterus cervix. Corticosteroid therapy led to clinical cu re within a few weeks. Twenty-five cases of giant-cell arteritis of th e female genital tract have been published of which only four were ass ociated with temporal arteritis. We recommend that such a diagnosis sh ould be considered in women presenting with long-lasting fever of unkn own origin, even in the absence of temporal arteritis and the clinical evidence of genital abnormalities.