Is Carotidynia Syndrome a Subset of Vasculitis?
To the Editor: Carotidynia is the syndrome characterized by unilateral neck pain initially described by Fay1 in 1927. The clinical finding is tenderness over the carotid bifurcation and pain aggravated by movement of the neck without structural abnormality2. The symptom has a short duration of about 2 to 4 weeks, suggesting self-limited disease. The occurrence and cause of carotidynia are unknown. We describe the case of a 74-year-old woman with diabetes mellitus, hyperlipidemia, and hypothyroidism who developed carotidynia. She consulted us complaining of acute pain and swelling at the left side of her neck and stiffness from the left side of her neck to shoulder in October 2007. She had appeared a few days earlier without any previous infectious symptoms or trauma. The physical findings showed tenderness on palpation from her left carotid bifurcation to internal carotid artery, which was swollen about 2 cm. Her body temperature was 36.3°C. The presence of a carotid bruit was unclear.
