GIANT-CELL ARTERITIS OF THE FEMALE GENITAL-TRACT

A 56-year-old woman with long-lasting fever of unknown origin was diagnosed as having a giant-cell arteritis of the genital tract with no evidence of temporal arteritis. Diagnosis relied on pathological examination, which showed a segmental panarteritis of ovaries, myometrium, endometrium and uterus cervix. Corticosteroid therapy led to clinical cure within a few weeks. Twenty-five cases of giant-cell arteritis of the female genital tract have been published of which only four were associated with temporal arteritis. We recommend that such a diagnosis should be considered in women presenting with long-lasting fever of unknown origin, even in the absence of temporal arteritis and the clinical evidence of genital abnormalities.