Possible giant cell arteritis symptoms are common in newly diagnosed patients with Polymyalgia Rheumatica: results from an incident primary care PMR cohort.

ABSTRACT:

Background

To examine the frequency of possible giant cell arteritis (GCA) symptoms (including headache, temporal/scalp tenderness, jaw claudication and visual symptoms) in newly diagnosed polymyalgia rheumatica (PMR) patients in UK primary care.

Methods

The PMR Cohort Study is a primary care inception cohort of 652 adults with newly diagnosed polymyalgia rheumatica (PMR). At baseline, participants were asked to report (yes/no) on the presence of seven potential GCA symptoms: sudden headache, tender scalp, disturbed/double vision, jaw claudication, fever, appetite loss and unintentional weight loss.

Results

Of the 652 patients, 405 (62%) were female, with a mean (SD) age of 72.5 (8.9) years. Sudden headache was the commonest symptom in 161 patients (24.7%). The least

SUBMITTER: Masson W 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6390563 | biostudies-literature | 2017

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature