Giant cell arteritis in a patient with bilateral parotid swelling as the first sign of the disease: a case report

Authors:

Diana Bajo, Ana Begović, Katarina Borić, Mijo Meter, Dijana Perković

Summary

We report a case of a patient with vision loss, whose diagnosis of temporal arteritis was confirmed by temporal artery biopsy. The patient presented with bilateral parotid swelling, amaurosis fugax, jaw claudication, and then headache. After the introduction of glucocorticoid therapy, the symptoms of the disease subsided, but there was a permanent loss of vision in one eye. This case indicates that it is important to consider temporal arteritis as a differential diagnosis in patients older than 50 with amaurosis fugax or other atypical symptoms that may precede the headache. A multidisciplinary approach involving neurologist, otorhinolaryngologist, infectiologist, ophthalmologist, and rheumatologist is key to early diagnosis and start of appropriate treatment that reduces the risk of permanent vision loss.

Sažetak
U ovom radu prikazali smo bolesnicu s gubitkom vida u sklopu temporalnog arteritisa potvrđenog biopsijom temporalne arterije. Klinički se bolest prezentirala oteklinom parotidnih žlijezda, amaurosis fugax i klaudikacijama čeljusti, a potom i glavoboljom. Nakon uvođenja glukokortikoidne terapije simptomi bolesti su regredirali, no zaostao je gubitak vida na jedno oko. Ovaj slučaj nas upozorava da je važno razmotriti temporalni arteritis kao diferencijalnu dijagnozu u bolesnika starijih od 50 godina s amaurosis fugax i ostalim atipičnim simptomima koji se mogu razviti prije pojave glavobolje. Dobra suradnja između neurologa, otorinolaringologa, infektologa, oftalmologa i reumatologa ključna je za rano postavljanje dijagnoze i početak odgovarajućeg liječenja koji smanjuje rizik od trajnog gubitka vida.

Vol.: 66

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