[Wegener's granulomatosis in the elderly. Report of 3 cases]

Wegener's Granulomatosis (W.G.) is a systemic vasculitis which the usual age of presentation is the fourth and fifth decades. It seldom appears in the aged patients and it often exists a greater delay in the diagnosis time and in the beginning of therapy in them. We present three cases of W.G. in aged patients (66, 79 and 80 years). One case was diagnosed in the autopsy and the two others had a favourable evolution after therapy. We insist on the need of using all the available tools in order to confirm the W.G. diagnostic, in spite of the aging. The therapy of these patients must be as vigorous as in the young patients in order to avoid the development of renal failure, the most important cause of death in this disease.