Temporal arteritis and polymyalgia rheumatica Posted: 11-08-06 16:13pm
I had a blood test this morning and
tonight at 6.30 my doctor called with a
script for prednisolone, he said the blood
test came back high he was testing for
temploral arthritis does this mean I have
defintly got the condition or will i have
to have more tests, i have to go back in
the morning to see him. I just need to put
my mind at rest any input would be
grateful.
thanks
|
DoctorAnswer
Doctor Answer
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Arthritis Answer A1828 Posted: 11-30-06 05:13am
Temporal arteritis is an autoimmune
inflammatory disease with an unknown cause
(etiology). The condition causes
inflammation and necrosis (death of tissue
in the body) of the large and medium
arteries (vasculitis) that branch from the
external carotid artery on the neck. It is
also called "giant cell arteritis" (GSA).
The temporal artery under the surface of
the head is most commonly affected during
GSA, but any artery in the body can be
affected (a systemic disease). Temporal
arteritis manifest with a headache in the
temporal region, a painful temporal
artery, variable visual difficulties, pain
in the jaw during mastication (chewing),
and fever. Temporal arteritis is often
accompanied by polymyalgia rheumatica
(PMR). PMR is also an autoimmune
inflammatory disease with an unknown
etiology. PMR manifests with pain and
stiffness of the shoulders, neck, arms,
hips and buttocks. General symptoms such
as febricity (fever), weakness, exhaustion
,and weight loss are usually present.
Diagnosis of temporal arteritis can be
established if you have at least 3 of
these 5 criteria, according to the
American College of Rheumatology:
1. Are at least 50 years of age at disease
onset
2. Are experiencing new onset or new type
of localized pain in the head
3. Notice temporal artery abnormality
(i.e., temporal artery tenderness to
palpation or decreased pulsation unrelated
to atherosclerosis of cervical arteries)
4. Sedimentation rate of greater than 40
mm in the first hour via the Westergren
method
5. Temporal artery biopsy indicates
vasculitis characterized by a predominance
of mononuclear cell infiltration or
granulomatous inflammation, usually with
multinucleated giant cells
According to your data (“blood test
high”) I suppose that your sedimentation
rate and probably C-reactive protein were
elevated. The only diagnostic procedure
remaining is a biopsy of the temporal
artery.
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