title: Giant cell arteritis complicated by acute pancreatitis: a case report.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  We describe a case of giant cell arteritis in a woman who was treated with high-dose systemic corticosteroids and subsequently developed acute pancreatitis.
  
  
  METHODS
  A 78-year-old Caucasian woman presented with four weeks of progressive headache and scalp tenderness. One day before ophthalmology assessment, she had experienced visual obscurations in both eyes. Her visual acuity was 6/9 in both eyes, with a right afferent pupillary defect and right swollen optic nerve. She was diagnosed as having temporal arteritis and was urgently treated with high-dose pulsed intravenous and oral corticosteroids. Her previous diet-controlled diabetes needed insulin and oral hyperglycaemic therapy to control erratic blood sugars. On day 8 of treatment with steroids, she became unwell with epigastric pain and vomiting. She was diagnosed with acute pancreatitis and was treated conservatively.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Acute pancreatitis, a potentially life-threatening condition, is a rare but important side effect of systemic corticosteroids.
authors.affiliation: Birmingham and Midland Eye Centre, City Hospital, Birmingham, UK. deepthisen@hotmail.com
authors.forename: Deepthi Renuka
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: Seneviratne
authors.forename: Susan P
authors.initials: SP
authors.lastname: Mollan
authors.forename: Samer
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Elsherbiny
authors.forename: Theresa
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Worstmann