Symptoms of active giant cell arteritis.
| Symptoms | 236 Encounters in 136 Patients with GCA | 51 Patients with a New Diagnosis of GCA | Identified on BVAS | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Past 28 Days | Today | At Diagnosis | Past 28 Days | Today | ||
| Weight loss | 17 | 13 | 8 | 8 | 5 | Yes |
| Fever | 7 | 11 | 3 | 3 | 0 | Yes |
| Headache | 98 | 53 | 33 | 32 | 11 | Yes |
| Scalp tenderness | 66 | 30 | 27 | 24 | 6 | Yes (as headache) |
| New temporal artery pain | 43 | 17 | 20 | 18 | 3 | Yes (as headache) |
| Carotidynia | 16 | 7 | 9 | 10 | 5 | No |
| Jaw/tongue claudication | 64 | 29 | 26 | 27 | 9 | No |
| Ischemic retinopathy | 14 | 5 | 10 | 10 | 5 | No |
| Partial vision loss | 14 | 7 | 5 | 8 | 5 | Yes |
| Severe vision loss | 5 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 3 | Yes |
| Diplopia | 9 | 1 | 8 | 8 | 0 | No |
| Polymyalgia rheumatica | 79 | 53 | 16 | 17 | 10 | Yes |
| Arthralgia/arthritis | 28 | 40 | 11 | 10 | 3 | Yes |
| Upper extremity claudication | 35 | 29 | 9 | 9 | 8 | No |
| Lower extremity claudication | 12 | 9 | 4 | 4 | 3 | No |
| Transient ischemic attack | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | No |
| Light-headedness | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | No |
| Mesenteric ischemia | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | Yes |
| Other (fatigue, cough, night sweats, anorexia) | 21 | 15 | 4 | 4 | 1 | Yes for fatigue and cough |
GCA: giant cell arteritis; BVAS: Birmingham Vasculitis Activity Score.