Case report of a 28-year-old man with aortic dissection and pulmonary shadow due to granulomatosis with polyangiitis

BACKGROUND: Granulomatosis with polyangiitis (GPA) is characterised by the main violation of the upper and lower respiratory tract and kidney. GPA is considered a systemic vasculitis of medium-sized and small blood vessels where aortic involvement is extremely rare. CASE PRESENTATION: A 28-year-old male was admitted to the hospital due to 4 h of chest pain. Computed tomography scan of the aorta showed a thickened aortic wall, pulmonary lesions, bilateral pleural effusion and pericardial effusion. The aortic dissection should be considered. An emergency operation was performed on the patient. Surgical biopsies obtained from the aortic wall showed destructive changes, visible necrosis, granulation tissue hyperplasia and a large number of acute and chronic inflammatory cells. Nearly a year later, the patient was re-examined for significant pulmonary lesions. His laboratory studies were significantly positive for anti-neutrophilic antibody directed against proteinase 3. Finally, the diagnosis of GPA was obviously established. CONCLUSIONS: Although GPA rarely involves the aorta, we did not ignore the fact that GPA may involve large blood vessels. In addition, GPA should be included in the systemic vasculitis that can give rise to aortitis and even aortic dissection. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (10.1186/s12890-019-0884-9) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.