| A Case Report of Temporal Arteritis. |
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Sung Yong Park, Kyung Ream Han, Won Deuk Cho, Sang Hun Lee, Chan Kim |
1Pain Clinic, Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, College of Medicine, Ajou University, Suwon, Korea. anepark@hanmail.net
2Sang Hun Lee Pain Clinic, Ulsan, Korea. |
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| Abstract |
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Temporal arteritis, also referred to as giant cell arteritis, is defined as a granulomatous vasculitis in people age 50 years or older. We are going to report a case of temporal arteritis. A 67-year-old woman had a headache in the right posterior auricular area. The pain character was pulsatile, paroxysmal and lancinating. On examination her body temperature was 36.6degrees C and allodynia existed in the C2 dermatome. No other positive signs were found. The laboratory results were as follows: white blood cells 7,000/mm3, hemoglobin 9.6 g/dl, erythrocyte sedimentation rate 120 mm/hr, C-reactive protein 11.0 mg/dl and SGPT 33 IU/L. Radiographs of a brain CT, cervical MRI and cervical MRA appeared normal. A cervical epidural block and C2 ganglion block were done but effects were transcent.
Temporal arteritis was suspected due to an elevated erythrocyte sedimentation rate and C-reactive protein, anemia and old age. Prednisolone 60 mg/day was given and the patient recovered within 10 days. As a result, the diagnosis was made by a combination of clinical features, laboratory findings and response to steroids. The patient was sucessfully treated with a steroid. |
| Key Words:
Headache; diagnosis; temporal arteritis; treatment |
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