musculoskeletal and connective tissue disorders
Giant Cell Arteritis
Key Points
Giant cell arteritis is a common large artery vasculitis affecting the aorta and its primary branches. Many patients have polymyalgia rheumatica. Manifestations include visual loss, diplopia, headache, jaw claudication, temporal artery tenderness, and constitutional symptoms. Obtain CBC, ESR, and C-reactive protein and do temporal artery biopsy or ultrasound. Treatments include corticosteroids (started immediately), low-doseaspirin, andtocilizumab. 