Giant cell (cranial) arteritis: a clinical review

Giant cell arteritis is a disease of the elderly which is more common than previously recognized. It is important to be aware of this condition because treatment effectively relieves symptoms and prevents serious complications. The disease is suggested when an elderly patient complains of constitutional symptoms, headache, jaw claudication, or the musculoskeletal manifestations of polymyalgia rheumatica. Abnormalities in temporal arteries or other cranial arteries, or evidence of large vessel involvement may be detected by physical examination. A markedly elevated sedimentation rate in association with other clinical features of the disease strongly suggests giant cell arteritis, but a biopsy should be performed to confirm the diagnosis. Corticosteroid therapy should be started promptly in high doses in order to prevent blindness. Prolonged treatment with lower dose corticosteroids is generally necessary for up to 1 to 2 years, and sometimes longer, for continued symptomatic relief. Long-term follow-up of treated patients has demonstrated no detectable effect on survivorship.