Address for treatment of superficial temporal arteritis
(Baonghean.vn) - Temporal arteritis is also known as Horton's disease. This is a disease that can be dangerous to vision, but if we implement timely and proper treatment, we can eliminate this dangerous risk. And one of the facilities that effectively treats Horton's disease is Nghe An Rehabilitation Hospital.
Recognizable signs
Mr. Luong Van Thap (72 years old) in Nam Son commune (Quy Hop) was hospitalized on May 15 with persistent pain in his temples and a numb, needle-like sensation under his scalp.
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| Patient admitted to Nghe An Rehabilitation Hospital. Photo: Nguyen Sach |
This condition has lasted for more than 10 years and now the pain has spread to other parts such as the forehead, eye socket, and occipital region on the same side. Due to the family's economic conditions and subjectivity, he has not received treatment but only takes herbal medicine. Only when the pain is too unbearable, he goes to Nghe An Rehabilitation Hospital for treatment.
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| Professor - Doctor Nguyen Van Chuong directly examines patients at Nghe An Rehabilitation Hospital. Photo: Nguyen Sach |
Here, he was directly guided and transferred science and technology to the team of doctors, nurses and caregivers of the hospital to examine and develop treatment regimens by Prof. Dr. Nguyen Van Chuong - Chairman of the Hanoi Pain Management Association - who was invited by Nghe An Rehabilitation Hospital.
After 1 week of treatment at the hospital and strictly following the Professor's instructions, Mr. Thap's illness has progressed well.
Mr. Luong Van Thap said: With the treatment regimen combining injections, oral medication, physical therapy... now his pain has completely subsided, especially the restlessness at night has stopped, he sleeps better. His health has recovered very well.
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| Headache is the most prominent symptom of Horton's disease, typically pain in the temple area. Photo: Sach Nguyen |
Talking with Prof. Dr. Nguyen Van Chuong, we learned that Horton's disease starts and progresses silently, without prominent symptoms. When symptoms appear, they usually manifest in the eyes in the following order: optic disc edema, pain in the eye socket, central retinal artery occlusion, double vision. In addition, the manifestations are accompanied by other symptoms such as: Pain in the temples due to superficial temporal arteritis. At that time, the patient experiences pain spontaneously, which can also be caused by stimuli such as pain when washing hair, combing hair, wearing tight hats, etc. The patient has persistent pain in the temples, a numbing sensation like needles pricking under the scalp.
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| Prof. Dr. Nguyen Van Chuong discusses how to recognize the symptoms of Horton's disease at Nghe An Rehabilitation Hospital. Photo: Nguyen Sach |
In some cases, the pain spreads to other parts of the body such as the forehead, eye socket or occipital region on the same side. The pain increases when the weather is suddenly cold, the pain is severe at night causing the patient to lose sleep. Sometimes there are severe pains in the temporal region causing the patient to hold his head and scream. This acute pain lasts 2-3 hours, an average of 1-2 attacks/day causing the patient to be hospitalized. When the pain is acute, the patient's temporal region is swollen, the skin is red, hotter to the touch than other areas, and there is a feeling of a thick, hard blood vessel, weak or no pulse, and very painful when pressed. A common symptom is that the disease also causes inflammation of the arteries: face, behind the eyes, occipital causing ischemia in the chewing muscles, causing the patient to have a lot of pain when chewing, and the pain is reduced or gone when stopping chewing. In some cases, the patient also has a sore throat, tongue, swallowing, and difficulty speaking due to damage to the arteries that control there.
Dangerous complications
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| Horton's disease can cause a number of dangerous complications. Photo: Internet |
Horton's disease causes eye complications that can appear suddenly, progress rapidly, and are irreversible, causing loss of vision within a few hours to a few days if not treated promptly. Common symptoms are photophobia, double vision, strabismus (due to paralysis of the ocular muscles), transient blindness, fog before the eyes, visual hallucinations, visual disturbances... and eventually complete blindness. Some patients have insomnia, loss of appetite, weight loss and fever, sometimes very high fever. Some other cases only have prolonged fever without other symptoms, fever of no known cause. In addition, many patients have symptoms of pseudo-polyarthritis of the extremities, the patient has pain in many joints, especially pain in the shoulder joints on both sides, but there is no limitation in joint movement, these signs of arthritis often appear before or are accompanied by headaches. In addition to the above symptoms, there are other rare symptoms that are easily confused with other diseases such as: cerebral infarction, neuritis, bronchial and pulmonary diseases; extracranial and intracranial arteritis, arteritis in the extremities; aortic aneurysm, aortic or coronary artery insufficiency... Temporal arteritis is easily overlooked in disease states such as: gradual generalized collapse; simple prolonged fever; intermittent claudication; angina or ischemic stroke in organs innervated by the major branches or trunk of the aorta.
Treatment
Professor, Dr. Nguyen Van Chuong said: Horton's is a disease that can be dangerous to vision, but if the patient is treated promptly and properly, this dangerous risk can be eliminated. Therefore, when there are suspicious signs, it is necessary to go to a medical facility for examination and specific advice.
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| To treat Horton's disease, corticosteroids are the only effective treatment. Photo: Sach Nguyen |
At that time, to determine the disease, doctors will order some additional tests such as: increased blood sedimentation, blood clotting disorders, immune disorders and especially selective temporal artery biopsy based on Doppler ultrasound or external carotid angiography... This is an internal medical emergency and corticosteroids are the only effective treatment. The sooner corticosteroids are treated, the more eye complications can be avoided.
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| When having the above symptoms, the patient should immediately go to Nghe An Rehabilitation Hospital for timely examination and treatment. Photo: Sach Nguyen |
To treat Horton's disease, corticosteroids (such as prednisone, solu-medrol) are the only effective treatment. The sooner corticosteroids are treated, the more eye complications can be avoided in the elderly. It can be said that when a physician suspects Horton's disease, there is no need to wait for the results of a temporal artery biopsy, but the patient should be treated with corticosteroids immediately.
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| This is a disease that can be dangerous to vision. Photo: Nguyen Sach |
Corticosteroid therapy is the only effective treatment. The dangerous complications of Horton's disease can be avoided if treatment is started promptly, as an emergency when eye damage has already occurred. Corticosteroid therapy can restore vision only when vision is only partially lost, but complete loss of vision cannot be restored.
Science and Technology Council - Nghe An Rehabilitation Hospital
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