Diagnosing Giant Cell Arteritis (GCA): Key Steps You Need to Know! When a patient presents with symptoms like throbbing headache, jaw pain while chewing, scalp pain, blurry vision, and fever, what do you do? ✅ Five ACR Criteria for GCA: Age > 50 Years ESR > 50 mm/hr New-onset headache Temporal artery tenderness Temporal artery biopsy findings Diagnosis: You need 3 out of 5 criteria to make the call. First Lab Tests: ESR and CRP to confirm inflammation. 💉 Empiric Treatment: Start high-dose stero

Jaw Claudication Decoding Jaw Pain & Claudication! 🦷 "Doctor, my jaw hurts when I chew." This simple complaint can hide serious pathology. Don't just dismiss it as dental pain! Here is your Differential Diagnosis Checklist for Jaw Claudication/Pain: Giant Cell Arteritis (GCA): Red Flags: Headache, Scalp tenderness, Vision loss. Urgency: High! Risk of permanent blindness. TMJ Disorder: Clue: Clicking or popping sound on jaw movement. Oral Malignancy: Red Flags: Non-healing ulcer, significant wei