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GCA Biopsy while on prednisone
Polymyalgia Rheumatica (PMR) | Last Active: Oct 22, 2023 | Replies (14)Comment receiving replies
I wish I'd known all this before. I couldn't get my biopsy until I'd been on 60 mg of prednisone for 10 days. Total waste of time because of course it was negative. All my symptoms pointed to GCA though so that's what they diagnosed me with anyway.
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A temporal artery biopsy is never 100% reliable when the test is negative. It all depends on the area of the artery that is biopsied. It is more like a "hit or miss" type of test.
PMR and GCA are frequently diagnosed based on symptoms only. A rapid response to prednisone doesn't provide 100% confirmation.
Inflammation markers aren't that reliable either. Even when ESR and CRP are higher than normal it doesn't identify what is causing the inflammation in order to come to any firm conclusions. Once again, symptoms are used to make the diagnosis.