A case of mixed connective tissue disease associated with macrovascular lesions in the upper and lower extremities

Abstract

Abstract--Macrovascular disease in the setting of mixed connective tissue disease (MCTD) is associated with high rates of morbidity. We describe a 29-year-old woman with MCTD who presented with stenoses of the left radial and left posterior tibial arteries. Blood flow was restored successfully with an intra-arterial infusion of prostaglandin (PG) El followed by oral PGE1 therapy. The association between macrovascular disease and MCTD, the effectiveness of PGE1 therapy, and the usefulness of Doppler flow measurements are discussed.