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The headache of temporal arteritis.
Journal of the American Geriatrics Society
|February 1, 1987
Summary
Temporal arteritis headaches often do not occur in the temples. This condition should be considered in elderly patients with new headaches, regardless of location or characteristics.
Area of Science:
- Neurology
- Rheumatology
- Internal Medicine
Background:
- Temporal arteritis, a form of vasculitis, can present with diverse symptoms.
- Headache is a common symptom, but its location is often atypical.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the characteristics of headaches in patients with biopsy-proven temporal arteritis.
- To determine the frequency of temple involvement in temporal arteritis-related headaches.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective review of 24 patients with biopsy-proven temporal arteritis.
- Analysis of headache location, quality, severity, and temporal patterns.
- Comparison with existing literature on headache sites in temporal arteritis.
Main Results:
- Only 6 of 24 patients experienced headache solely in the temporal area.
- Seven patients had temple pain as part of broader head pain (frontal, vertex, occipital).
- Seven patients had headaches not involving the temples; two had no headache.
Conclusions:
- Temporal arteritis diagnosis should not be excluded based on the absence of temple pain.
- Consider temporal arteritis in all elderly patients presenting with new-onset headaches.
- Headache presentation in temporal arteritis is highly variable and location-specific diagnosis is unreliable.