[Inflammatory arteriopathy of the arms in the course of Horton disease. Report of six cases]. / Artériopathie inflammatoire des membres supérieurs au cours de la maladie de Horton. A propos de six cas.

We report 6 cases of upper limb involvement in giant cell arteritis; upper limb involvement revealed the disease in 4 cases and clinical symptoms were present in 5 (upper limb pain, Raynaud's phenomenon). Upper limb pulses were not palpable and blood pressure unmeasurable in all. Duplex ultrasonography found signs of inflammatory arteriopathy in 4 cases (hypoechogenous halo of the arterial wall and acceleration of flow velocity). Arteriography was performed in 5 cases and showed long and regular stenoses. In the last case, arteriography was not done because the duplex exploration gave an easier diagnosis. With this technique, the diagnosis of upper limb involvement, frequent in autopsy series of giant cell arteritis, might be made more often. Corticosteroid therapy is indicated and surgery should be discussed only in emergency situations.