RT Book, Section
A1 Hellmann, David B.
A2 Imboden, John B.
A2 Hellmann, David B.
A2 Stone, John H.
SR Print(0)
ID 57273029
T1 Chapter 30. Giant Cell Arteritis & Polymyalgia Rheumatica
T2 CURRENT Diagnosis & Treatment: Rheumatology, 3e
YR 2013
FD 2013
PB The McGraw-Hill Companies
PP New York, NY
SN 978-0-07-163805-0
LK accessmedicine.mhmedical.com/content.aspx?aid=57273029
RD 2024/04/18
AB Giant  cell  arteritis  (GCA)—also  known  as  temporal  arteritis—is  the  most  common  form  of  systemic  vasculitis  in  adults.  GCA  is  a  panarteritis  that  occurs  almost  exclusively  in  older  people  and  preferentially  affects  the  extracranial  branches  of  the  carotid  artery.  The  most  feared  complication  of  GCA  is  blindness,  which  usually  can  be  prevented  by  early  diagnosis  and  treatment  with  glucocorticoids.  Polymyalgia  rheumatica  (PMR)  is  an  aching  and  stiffness  of  the  shoulders,  neck,  and  hip-girdle  area  that  can  occur  with  GCA,  or  more  commonly,  by  itself.