DOI: 10.36347/sjams.2014.v02i05.080

Pages: 1892-1895

The aim of the study was to describe the demographic, clinical and laboratory profile of patients with giant cell arteritis in northeast of Iran. In a retrospective study we reviewed the records of all patients that satisfied the American College of Rheumatology 1990 criteria for diagnosis of giant cell arteritis. The clinical features, laboratory parameters and biopsy findings of the patients were analyzed. A total of 30 patients were diagnosed with giant cell arteritis. The male: female ratio was 1.1:1. The mean age of onset was 63.9 ± 10.4 years. The most common manifestations included headache (96.7%), temporal artery tenderness (62.1%), jaw claudication (23.3%), polymyalgia rheumatica (40%), visual manifestations (36.7%) and fever (20%). The erythrocyte sedimentation rate was elevated in all patients (mean: 88.43 mm/hour). Anemia (Hb<12g/dl) was found in 26% of patients. Biopsy was done in 21 patients, with 15 of them being positive. Of 14 patients with eye involvement, 11 had unilateral and 3 bilateral eye involvement. Visual loss was permanent in all of the affected patients. All patients responded to steroids well (Except for visual loss). There was not any mortality due to giant cell arteritis. In northeast of Iran, it seems that giant cell arteritis has minimal gender preference and it occurs in younger population. Headache and scalp tenderness were more common but, fever, jaw claudication, vertigo and diplopia were less common in our patients. Other features were similar to that of the West. The response to steroids was excellent. Irreversible visual loss was an important complication.