[Blindness in both eyes due to late diagnosis of giant cell arteritis].

BACKGROUND

Giant cell arteritis (GCA) is often diagnosed very late, variable "facets" of the disease exist render the diagnosis more difficult.

METHODS/PATIENTS: Follow-up observations of five very old patients are reported in whom diagnosis was made too late, resulting in blindness of both eyes.

RESULTS

Five patients (age 76-84 years, 4 women, one man) with GCA became blind in both eyes because diagnosis had been delayed (two patients) or onset of therapy was too late (three patients). In two patients who also had arterial hypertension, the symptom "headache" had been misleading. Symptoms of accompanying general diseases masked the real diagnosis, particularly in the second patient who had renal insufficiency, coronary artery disease, and unilateral obstruction of the internal carotid artery. Symptoms that failed to lead to the correct diagnosis were: muscle or chewing pain (three patients), circumscribed numbness around the mouth (second patient), and persistent headache despite normalization of blood pressure. Normal findings from cranial CTAs (two patients) led to the wrong reassurance of the patient. Swelling of the optic disk (two patients) was misdiagnosed by ophthalmologists, as was a retinal branch arterial occlusion (first patient). Three patients, afraid of possible side effects caused by glucocorticoids, took ineffective alternative medications. Poor vigilance led to blindness of the fifth patient with long-standing polymyalgia rheumatica.

CONCLUSIONS

Targeted examinations at the onset of symptoms are necessary. GCA-symptoms were mis-constructed by additional diseases that disguised the correct diagnosis. The danger of bilateral blindness is particularly great in patients of great age.