[Temporal arteritis and rhizomelic pseudo-polyarthritis. Clinical aspects and nosologic problems. Apropos of 48...

The authors report 40 cases of temporal arteritis, of which 16 were associated with pseudo-polyarthritis, and 8 cases of polyarthritis alone. The clinical picture of temporal arteritis in the elderly, includes headaches in 95% of cases, clinical changes in the superficial head arteries in 75% of cases, joint and muscle signs dominated by pseudo-polyarthritis in 40% of cases; general signs were practically constant. A major inflammatory syndrome was also constant. From the histological point of view, there was pan-arteritis with giant cells, and their wide diffusion is shown by the presence of eye signs in 27.5% of cases, brain signs in 10% of cases, and extra-cephalic vascular signs in 10%. The relationship in classification between temporal arteritis and polyarthritis of the roots of the limbs is recalled. The course is long, the duration of corticosteroid therapy should never be less than two years; relapses are common but the mortality appears low.