Giant cell arteritis: the importance of immediate and appropriate diagnosis and treatment for better prognosis

Abstract

This article describes the case of a 68-year-old patient suffering from giant cell arteritis (also known as Horton’s arteritis or temporal arteritis). The patient came to our attention due to a large and sudden visual loss caused by the occlusion of major retinal arteries. The patient had neuralgic pain in the face. The next day, for a thorough examination, the patient went to the day hospital with a further worsening of the visual loss which required immediate admission to the ophthalmological ward for hospitalization lasting 10 days. During the observation period it was difficult to make an instant diagnosis due to the absence of clinical signs or diagnostic tests for Horton’s arteritis. Only after the third day of hospitalization, when corticosteroid therapy was undertaken following the appearance of significant systemic symptoms, did the patient begin to show a gradual improvement in overall clinical status. The case highlights the difficulty in making a rapid diagnosis of giant cell arteritis and the efficacy of early steroid therapy in this vascular autoimmune disease that otherwise may result in irreversible functional and debilitating systemic damage.

Large vessel vasculitis and the rising role of FDG PET-CT: A case report and review of literature

“…The early diagnosis of large vessel vasculitis is crucial to prevent serious irreversible complications [6 , 10 , 11] . It is also important in the prevention of toxicity from unnecessary drug management [8] .…”

“…Painless loss of vision is an atypical presentation for temporal arteritis. Temporal arteritis patients who suffer visual deficits in one eye have a higher risk (20-50%) of bilateral vision loss if they are not treated with or discontinue their immunosuppressant treatment [10 , 11] .…”

Is high myopia a risk factor for visual field progression or disk hemorrhage in primary open-angle glaucoma?

“…Eyes were excluded in this study when they met all the following criteria: a combination of congenital optic disk anomalies or retinal diseases, including pathological myopia; the possibility of other optic nerve diseases; 26 intracranial lesions or trauma possibly associated with VF defects; eyes with previous laser treatments or ocular surgeries except for cataract surgery at baseline; and the number of VF tests <7. …”

Giant Cell Arteritis Masquerading as Tooth Pain: A Case Report

“…Giant cell arteritis (GCA), also known as temporal arteritis or Horton’s arteritis [ 1 ], is a granulomatous vasculitis typically affecting the large- and medium-sized arteries, including the aorta, branches of the ophthalmic artery, and extracranial branches of the carotid arteries [ 2 ]. As a critical diagnosis, a high index clinical suspicion is required to diagnose the condition early before it progresses to a stage of permanent vision loss [ 3 ].…”