Three patients with arteritis.

Three boys were treated for arteritis of the aorta and great vessels and bilateral renal artery stenosis. One presented at age 6 months with failure to thrive, excessive sweating, and vomiting: hypertension and cardiac failure were subsequently diagnosed. The two older boys (7 and 14 years) presented with symptomless hypertension. The clinical and angiographic findings in the three patients suggest that the illness may have been Takayasu's arteritis, which should be included in the differential diagnosis of hypertension in infancy and childhood. Renal autotransplantation was performed in all three patients with good results. Early renal autotransplantation may reduce the morbidity associated with this disease.