BOF: 27
A 60-year-old female presents with a severe left-sided
temporal headache. The temporal artery is tender, pulsation is lost and the
overlying skin is erythematous. The E.S.R. is 80 mm in the first hour.
In this patient:
a)
A short course of high dose steroid should be prescribed
b)
The E.S.R. is not a reliable guide to use when reducing the dosage of
steroids
c)
The headache subsides within hours of commencing the patient on high dose
steroid
d)
Lifelong steroid treatment will be required
e)
As steroids may be harmful in elderly patients, treatment should be
delayed until the results of temporal artery biopsy are available
