skip to main content

Takayasu arteritis — SCE Rheumatology MCQ

Instant feedback + full explanation. One question, done properly.

HardVasculitisTakayasu arteritisSCE Rheumatology

A 52-year-old woman has arm claudication, dizziness and constitutional symptoms. Examination shows blood pressure differs between arms and pulses are reduced. Investigations show CRP is raised and CT angiography shows aortic branch stenoses. The admitting team asks which diagnosis best explains the whole presentation. What is the most likely diagnosis?

Educational content. Not a substitute for clinical judgement or local policy.

Reveal the answer and explanation

Correct answer: A — Takayasu arteritis

Takayasu arteritis is the best answer because the pattern described is most consistent with Takayasu arteritis, including the distribution of symptoms and the targeted investigation results. Palindromic rheumatism is a plausible distractor, but it does not account for the key discriminator in the stem. Giant cell arteritis and Systemic sclerosis would be more appropriate in a different clinical pattern or at another point in the pathway, while Eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis is suboptimal for this presentation. Clinical pearl: in SCE-style questions, the decisive clue is usually the pattern across joints, extra-articular features and targeted immunology rather than a single antibody result.

Reference: BSR GCA guideline; EULAR ANCA-associated vasculitis recommendations; BNF