Hello and welcome to the zero to finals podcast.

My name is Tom and in this episode I'm going to be talking to you about giant cell arthritis.

And you can find written notes on this topic at zero to finals.com slash giant cell arthritis

or in the rheumatology section of the second edition of the zero to finals

medicine book. So let's get straight into it.

Giant cell arthritis or GCA is also known as temporal arthritis.

It's a type of systemic vasculitis affecting the medium and large arteries.

There's a strong link between giant cell arthritis and polymyalgia rheumatica.

It's more common in older white patients.

The key complication of giant cell arthritis is vision loss, which is often irreversible.

Therefore, it needs prompt recognition and management.

So let's talk about the presentation.

A unilateral headache is the primary presenting feature.

Typically, this is severe and located around the temple and the forehead.

It may be associated with scalp tenderness, for example noticed when brushing the hair,

jaw claudication, which is aching in the jaw when chewing,

blurring or double vision, and loss of vision if untreated.

The temporal artery may be tender and thickened on palpation, and when palpating, the pulse may be

reduced or absent. Associated features include symptoms of polymyalgia rheumatica,

for example shoulder and pelvic girdle pain and stiffness,

systemic symptoms, for example, weight loss, fatigue and a low-grade fever,

muscle tenderness, carpal tunnel syndrome and peripheral edema.

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