Temporal arteritis associated with Borrelia infection. A case report.
A 71-year-old man had sudden vision loss associated with headache. A temporal artery biopsy revealed a typical picture of giant cell arteritis. Subsequent steroid therapy failed to restore sight. A later blood culture contained spirochetes compatible with Borrelia species, and a silver stain of the temporal artery biopsy specimen demonstrated a similar spirochete. Treatment with i.v. ceftriaxone sodium led to some limited return of sight. To our knowledge, this is the first case report of a spirochete compatible with Borrelia found in a temporal artery biopsy specimen.
Pizzarello
L D
LD
Southampton Hospital, New York 11968.
MacDonald
A B
AB
Semlear
R
R
DiLeo
F
F
Berger
B
B
D000368:Aged; D001898:Borrelia / Q000302:isolation & purification; D001899:Borrelia Infections; D013700:Giant Cell Arteritis / Q000209:etiology* / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D008193:Lyme Disease / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D014792:Visual Acuity; D014794:Visual Fields