An elderly lady with a painful swollen face.
Giant cell arteritis (GCA) is the most common vasculitis in the elderly. Common presenting symptoms include cranial ischemic complications, constitutional manifestations and polymyalgia rheumatica. Facial and cervical edema is increasingly recognized as an inaugural sign of GCA. We present a case with tender facial and cervical edema as the dominating symptom.
Department of General Internal Medicine, University Hospital Gasthuisberg, Herestraat 49, Leuven, Belgium.
Kristel
K
Van Landuyt
Steven
S
Vanderschueren
D000368:Aged; D000893:Anti-Inflammatory Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001706:Biopsy; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D004487:Edema / Q000209:etiology*; D005157:Facial Pain / Q000209:etiology*; D005260:Female; D013700:Giant Cell Arteritis / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000188:drug therapy; D006801:Humans; D008775:Methylprednisolone / Q000627:therapeutic use; D013699:Temporal Arteries / Q000473:pathology
D000893:Anti-Inflammatory Agents; D008775:Methylprednisolone