[Giant cell thromboangiitis in a patient taking an oral contraceptive (author's transl)].

Pathological examination in a patient who developed an ischemic cerebrovascular accident while taking an oral contraceptive demonstrated widespread lesions in the right and left carotid regions. Histological examination revealed the presence of an obliterating thromboangiitis in the arterial walls, with subendothelial fibrosis of the intima, arterial thrombosis, and a marked giant cell reaction where the lesions were in contact with the internal elastic layer. Immunological and biological anomalies confirmed the inflammatory nature of the lesion with the presence of anti-ethinyl estradiol antibodies in the serum and circulating blood immune complexes. These biological and histological results suggest the immunological nature of the mechanism of origin of the cerebrovascular accident in this case.