OA32 Jaw claudication - does the textbook description need updating?

Abstract

Abstract Background/Aims Recognition of jaw claudication is crucial to expedite diagnosis and treatment of giant cell arteritis (GCA). The ACR 1990 criteria defined claudication of the jaw, tongue or deglutition as “development or worsening of fatigue or discomfort in muscles of mastication, tongue, or swallowing muscles while eating”. We sought to describe the diverse ways in which patients may describe this key GCA symptom and its impact on health-related quality of life. Methods Secondary analysis of a qualitative dataset originally created for the development of a patient-reported outcome measure for GCA. Participants (n = 36) with GCA confirmed by biopsy/imaging were recruited using purposive sampling from two rheumatology clinics and one ophthalmology clinic in the UK (n = 25) and Australia (n = 11). Interviews transcripts from the original study were organised within QSR NVivo 12 software and analysed using template analysis. Themes were refined through discussion among researchers including a patient partner. Results 20 of 36 participants (56%) reported jaw symptoms. Of these 20, the median age was 76.5 years; 60% were female. Five main themes were identified in the data: physical sensations; impact on function; impact on diet; symptom response to steroids; attribution to other causes (see Table 1). Whilst a large proportion of patients described jaw pain, jaw cramp, jaw stiffness and lockjaw had also been described. Symptom resolution following commencement of steroids varied among participants. Jaw symptom was misjudged as due to dental cavity, ear infection and teeth grinding by healthcare professionals in some cases. Some patients did not seek immediate help from healthcare professionals regarding their jaw symptoms as they were thought to be related to arthritis, age or viral illnesses. Conclusion Patients with GCA described their jaw symptoms in various ways, not exclusive to chewing. When Horton originally described jaw claudication, he also observed that some patients reported ‘lockjaw’. For early recognition and prompt diagnosis of GCA, we suggest that textbooks and teaching should be updated to reflect this. Patient education on the potential significance of jaw symptoms is also crucial to avoid delay in seeking help. Disclosure J. Lim: None. E. Dures: None. L. Bailey: None. C. Almeida: None. C. Ruediger: None. C. Hill: None. J. Robson: None. S.L. Mackie: Consultancies; Roche/Chugai, Sanofi, AbbVie, AstraZeneca. Other; SLM has given talks on behalf of her institution for Pfizer, Vifor and UCB. In all cases fees were paid to her institution and no personal fees were received, SLM was supported by Roche to attend EULAR2019 and by Pfizer to attend ACR2021 virtually, SLM has been an investigator on clinical trials for Sanofi and GSK, As a research grant co-applicant, SLM has received research funding (partial salary support) from Vifor, paid to her institution.