Sick Bay - The Doctor Is In!
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Sick Bay - The Doctor Is In! |
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From: Dr. Dave, Fleet Surgeon: What's the Problem? TEMPORAL ARTERITIS Temporal Arteritis is an inflammation of the temporal arteries on either side of the head. It occurs in older people, the older the more likely, with 80 year olds at a 10 times greater risk than 50 year olds. It is twice as common in women as in men. The pain can be bilateral and the temple is tender to pressure. The sedimentation rates will be elevated. It is considered an urgent diagnosis to make and get into treatment because it can cause stroke or blindness. A definitive diagnosis is made with a biopsy of the temporal artery but the inflammation may be in patches and the biopsy can miss a patch. Another helpful test is to measure C reactive protein. Both of these tests can be elevated in other diseases and the biopsy can be negative. So, many doctors with a patient with temporal pain and tenderness in the presence of an elevated sedimentation rate will put their patients on a large initial dose of Prednisone. If it is Temporal Arteritis, the pain leaves quickly. The amount of Prednisone is then decreased until just enough is taken to keep the sedimentation rate down. Since Prednisone has serious side effects, it's use is kept to the minimum and stopped as soon as possible. Lt Dave Brinker, MD, AP SAFE BOATING DONE  WE ALL HAVE FUN |
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