Case Report

Brachial Plexopathy as a Presenting Symptom of Giant Cell Arteritis

IFTIKHAR AHMAD CHOWDHRY, JAYASHREE SINHA, and PETER BARLAND

ABSTRACT.

Clinical manifestations of giant cell arteritis (GCA) include headache, visual symptoms, jaw claudication, scalp tenderness and necrosis, tongue pain, sore throat, and proximal myalgias as part of an associated polymyalgia rheumatica. Symptoms involving the upper extremities also include claudication, presumably secondary to inflammation and narrowing of the subclavian arteries. We describe a patient with symptoms of a brachial plexopathy as the initial manifestations of GCA. (J Rheumatol 2002;29:2653-7)

Key Indexing Terms:

BRACHIAL PLEXOPATHY
GIANT CELL ARTERITIS

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From the Division of Rheumatology, Department of Medicine, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York, USA.

I.A. Chowdhry, MD, Instructor in Medicine; J. Sinha, MD, Researcher; P. Barland, MD, Professor of Medicine and Pathology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Director of Rheumatology, Montefiore Medical Center, Bronx, New York.

Address reprint requests to Dr. I.A. Chowdhry, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, 1300 Morris Park Avenue, Forchheimer 405, Bronx, NY 10461. E-mail: chowdhry@aecom.yu.edu

Submitted February 28, 2002; revision accepted May 29, 2002.

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