[Skull metastase masquerading as temporal arteritis: report of two cases].
BACKGROUND
Temporal arteritis is the most common systemic vasculitis of the elderly. A definitive diagnosis is obtained on temporal artery biopsy examination (TAB). However, 30% of TAB yields false negative results. In such cases, diagnosis relies on clinical presentation and exclusion of alternative diagnosis. Conversely, false positive TAB are uncommon.


METHODS
We report two patients who presented with headache, scalp tenderness and increased acute phase reactants, suggesting temporal arteritis, but which turned out to reveal a skull metastase. Temporal artery biopsy performed in one case demonstrated arterial wall inflammation.


CONCLUSIONS
Clinicians must be aware that a skull lesion can mimick temporal arteritis.
Néel
A
A
Service de médecine interne, CHU Hôtel-Dieu, place Alexis-Ricordeau, 44000 Nantes, France. antoine.neel@univ-nantes.fr
Agard
C
C
Chevalet
P
P
Moreau
A
A
Hamidou
M
M
D000368:Aged; D001706:Biopsy; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D017809:Fatal Outcome; D005260:Female; D013700:Giant Cell Arteritis / Q000473:pathology*; D006801:Humans; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology; D011859:Radiography; D012888:Skull Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology* / Q000556:secondary*; D013699:Temporal Arteries / Q000473:pathology