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Oral and ocular/orbital manifestations of temporal arteritis: a disease with deceptive clinical symptoms and devastating consequences

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Abstract

Temporal arteritis (TA) is a chronic, systemic vasculitis most often presenting with severe headaches localized in the temporal region, low-grade fever, anorexia, weight loss and generalized malaise. Besides these typical characteristics, a number of vague and non-specific oral and/or ocular symptoms may also be present. A search using Medline (1955–2006) was performed for unusual oral and ocular/orbital presentations of TA. A variety of oral and ocular/orbital manifestations associated with TA have been reported. These can mislead physicians, causing a delay in establishing a diagnosis and initiating treatment. Increased awareness is necessary for the prompt recognition of this potentially devastating disease. Particularly, dentists and ophthalmologists should include TA in their differential diagnosis, as they may be the first to deal with these patients.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Clinical Biochemistry (Vascular Disease Prevention Clinic), Royal Free Hospital, Pond Street, London, NW3 2QG, UK

    Kosmas I. Paraskevas & George E. Vrentzos

  2. Department of Vascular Surgery, Athens University Medical School, Athens, Greece

    Kosmas I. Paraskevas

  3. Division of Rheumatology, Clinical Immunology and Allergy, University Hospital of Heraklion, Heraklion, Crete, Greece

    Dimitrios T. Boumpas

  4. Department of Internal Medicine, University Hospital of Heraklion, Heraklion, Crete, Greece

    George E. Vrentzos

  5. Department of Clinical Biochemistry (Vascular Disease Prevention Clinic), Royal Free Hospital and Royal Free University College Medical School, Pond Street, London, NW3 2QG, UK

    Dimitri P. Mikhailidis

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  1. Kosmas I. Paraskevas
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  2. Dimitrios T. Boumpas
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  3. George E. Vrentzos
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  4. Dimitri P. Mikhailidis
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Correspondence to Kosmas I. Paraskevas.

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Paraskevas, K.I., Boumpas, D.T., Vrentzos, G.E. et al. Oral and ocular/orbital manifestations of temporal arteritis: a disease with deceptive clinical symptoms and devastating consequences. Clin Rheumatol 26, 1044–1048 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10067-006-0493-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10067-006-0493-x

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