Various etiologies and presentations of giant cell arteritis: A series of case reports

Abstract

GCA is a granulomatous vasculitis of unknown origin and targets large vessels with predominance for the aortic arch and the cranial branches. The underlying etiology of GCA is complex and has been widely researched, yet is still not well understood. The average age of presentation is 72.5 years for women and 70.3 years old for men. Furthermore, women are affected between 2 and 6 times more often than men. With vision loss, ophthalmologists are on the front lines of diagnosing the disorder. In addition to vision loss, patients commonly note associated symptoms such as headache, jaw claudication, diplopia, myalgias, and constitutional symptoms. The most commonly feared sequel of GCA is permanent visual loss secondary to arteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (AAION). Here we present a series of case reports of GCA with their various presentations.