Connect
← Return to Temporal Artery Biopsy VS a color Doppler Ultrasound for GCA diagnosis
Discussion
Temporal Artery Biopsy VS a color Doppler Ultrasound for GCA diagnosis
Polymyalgia Rheumatica (PMR) | Last Active: Sep 10 12:17pm | Replies (26)Comment receiving replies
Hello. Wow! Thanks for sharing your experience and the link to the MedScape article. I live in Santa Fe, NM. Our health care is nothing like that of the Boston area. We have one rheumatologist. I got in quickly (Monday) for a Doppler US at the radiology department in one of our hospitals. I will ask them specific questions pertaining to resolution. This is not a Fast Track clinic. I have an appointment with ENT on Wednesday regarding a TAB which I would like to avoid, and because of the possibility of a negative reading because of steroids.
Curious: have you had your Iron and ferritin levels tested? Mine both came back LOW. My CRP and SED are elevating not alarmingly but they should be going down with Prednisone.
And your PMR diagnosis was 2023? Did you have any procedures prior to onset? I believe mine was triggered by dental work. I also live with psoriasis (plaque and guttate) that I have managed with diet and supplementation.
Again, TY for your reply. Glad you do not have GCA. Stay healthy and be well. PS I'll let you know what I discover.
Replies to "Hello. Wow! Thanks for sharing your experience and the link to the MedScape article. I live..."
Connect
good morning @lilyonm glad to hear back from you. I was going to wait till my Rheum appointment on Monday to post my experiences with TAB , but your thread was right there when we we returned from vacation !
I looked at my recent physical results - I didn't seem to have any testing for iron or ferritin. I did not have a procedure prior to Dx of PMR in April of 2023. I actually contacted researchers in Italy with question about a correlation between a physical injury ( mine was knee) and PMR and they replied there is not. IS ENT = ear nose and throat ? is this your physician who is handling your PMR?
FYI - this is how the biopsy test results were written and is titled as "Anatomical Pathology"
FINAL PATHOLOGIC DIAGNOSIS:
A. RIGHT TEMPORAL ARTERY BIOPSY:
Medium size artery with no evidence of temporal arteritis. See note.
Note: Elastic stain shows intact elastic fibers, supporting the diagnosis.
However, a negative biopsy does not rule out the possibility of giant cell
(temporal) arteritis, as this may be a focal disorder. The clinical management
should be dependent upon the clinical impression.
needless to say - this is a bit confusing. @ksukraw is the reference to 'focal disorder" why you are stating that there is a "high false neg " even with TAB? I'm sorry about your vision loss ! will reply again to this conversation on Monday.