From Neck Pain to Sarcoidosis: The Interesting Association

Fadi Kharouf; Mohammad Yassin; Issa Al-Kharouf; Issam Hindi; Rottem Kuint

doi:10.1155/2021/6663519

From Neck Pain to Sarcoidosis: The Interesting Association

Case Rep Rheumatol. 2021 Mar 16:2021:6663519. doi: 10.1155/2021/6663519. eCollection 2021.

Authors

Fadi Kharouf¹, Mohammad Yassin², Issa Al-Kharouf³, Issam Hindi¹, Rottem Kuint⁴

Affiliations

¹ Department of Medicine, Rheumatology Unit, Hebrew University-Hadassah Medical Center, Jerusalem, Israel.
² Diagnostic Radiology Unit, Maccabi Healthcare Services, Jerusalem, Israel.
³ Department of Pathology, Hebrew University-Hadassah Medical Center, Jerusalem, Israel.
⁴ Department of Medicine, Institute of Pulmonary Medicine, Hebrew University-Hadassah Medical Center, Jerusalem, Israel.

Abstract

We report the case of a 31-year-old male patient, presenting to the emergency department (ED) with a 6-week history of left-sided lateral neck pain, along with a minor localized swelling. A few weeks after the beginning of his complaints, he contracted a mild coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Upon examination, his aches were defined as carotidynia; thus, proper radiologic evaluation was carried out. While ultrasound (US) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans showed evident signs of left common carotid (LCC) vasculitis, computed tomography angiography (CTA) and positron emission tomography-CT (PET-CT) scans revealed no vascular findings. Unexpected hypermetabolic hilar and mediastinal lymphadenopathy was found on PET-CT, necessitating lymph node biopsy. Pathology results displayed noncaseating granulomas. Besides, angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) levels in blood were high. Sarcoidosis, with concurrent LCC vasculitis, was diagnosed, and corticosteroid therapy was started. Shortly thereafter, remarkable recovery ensued.

Publication types

Case Reports