Unilateral pleural effusion secondary to Takayasu arteritis: a case report and literature review

Takayasu arteritis (TA) is a chronic, nonspecific inflammatory disease of large and medium-sized vessels that primarily involves the aorta and its branches. TA involving the pulmonary arteries has a prevalence ranging from 14% to 86%, which can lead to pulmonary hypertension, a progressive increase in pulmonary artery pressure, and eventually death from right heart failure. The presentation of pulmonary arteritis (PA) is very nonspecific, with a reported misdiagnosis rate of up to 60% and a diagnosis time ranging from 1 month to more than 10 years. The clinical manifestation of pleural effusion is very rare in both TA and PA cases. Based on our literature review, this is the 6(th) reported case of TA with pleural effusion, and the specific mechanism of TA with pleural effusion is still unclear. The characteristics of this case and the previously reported cases are summarized in this article to improve the understanding of TA and PA and reduce the misdiagnosis rate.