Abstract

Carotidynia is a neck pain syndrome, characterized by unilateral tenderness to palpation over the carotid bifurcation area. The differential diagnosis for carotidynia should be done carefully for the proper identification of this syndrome. The differential diagnosis for carotidynia includes large-vessel vasculitides such as Takayasu’s and temporal arteritis, arteriosclerosis, thrombosis, fibromuscular dysplasia, dissection and aneurysm, as well as other non-vascular diseases such as lymphoedemas, sialodenitis, thyroiditis, peritonsiller abse or neck neoplasms. Takayasu’s arteritis is a rare chronic systemic granulomatous inflammatory disease that affect the aorta and its major branchs with unknown etiology. Carotidynia may be a clinical sign of Takayasu arteritis and other large vessel vasculitides. In this study, we report ultrasonographic and magnetic resonance imaging findings in two patients with idiopatic carotidynia and Takayasu arteritis as a cause of carotidynia.

Key words: Carotidynia, neck pain, Takayasu arteritis