Document Detail


Arteritis of the aged (giant cell arteritis) and fever of unexplained origin.
MedLine Citation:
PMID:  1258889     Owner:  NLM     Status:  MEDLINE    
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
Arteritis of the aged (giant cell arteritis) masquerades as a degenerative, infectious, neoplastic or even functional disorder in the elderly. In the absence of obliterative vascular changes, the diagnosis is often overlooked when too rigid diagnostic criteria are employed. Four elderly women presented with fever of unexplained origin as the initial manifestation of this disease. The temporal arteries were conspicuously normal in all four, and other traditional clinical clues, such as visual disturbances, headache or manifestations of polymyalgia rheumatica were likewise infrequent of entirely absent. Influenza immunization and uncomplicated rectal surgery preceded the onset of illness in two. Anemia and an increased erythrocyte sedimentation rate are important diagnostic features, particularly in the face of spontaneous clinical improvement accompanied by defervescence and disappearance of nonspecific liver dysfunction. Occult intestinal perforation complicated steroid therapy in one case. Significant and sometimes hectic fever may be a common pattern for this arteritis in its earliest stages, when palpably abnormal temporal arteries, obliterative vascular changes and other traditional diagnostic clues are more likely to be absent.
Authors:
M K Ghose; S Shensa; P I Lerner
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Publication Detail:
Type:  Journal Article    
Journal Detail:
Title:  The American journal of medicine     Volume:  60     ISSN:  0002-9343     ISO Abbreviation:  Am. J. Med.     Publication Date:  1976 Mar 
Date Detail:
Created Date:  1976-05-18     Completed Date:  1976-05-18     Revised Date:  2007-11-15    
Medline Journal Info:
Nlm Unique ID:  0267200     Medline TA:  Am J Med     Country:  UNITED STATES    
Other Details:
Languages:  eng     Pagination:  429-36     Citation Subset:  AIM; IM    
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MeSH Terms
Descriptor/Qualifier:
Aged
Anemia / diagnosis
Blood Sedimentation
Diagnosis, Differential
Female
Fever of Unknown Origin / diagnosis*
Giant Cell Arteritis / diagnosis*
Headache / diagnosis
Humans
Polymyalgia Rheumatica / diagnosis
Postoperative Complications / diagnosis
Prednisone / therapeutic use
Vision Disorders / diagnosis
Chemical
Reg. No./Substance:
53-03-2/Prednisone

From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine


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