Carotidynia: Similar Clinical Picture, Different Radiological Findings

Carotidynia is an unusual condition that is characterized by pain at the carotid artery bifurcation without any abnormality except for tenderness on palpation. The independent existence of this entity is generally doubted. Recently, some radiological and histological clues to this disease have been reported. Although the exact cause of carotidynia is unknown it is thought that this entity is a self-limiting inflammatory process and may be a subset of vasculitis. Treatment is conservative and anti-inflammatory drugs are effective. In this paper, we report three carotidynia patients with similar clinical features but different radiological findings.