Polymyalgia Rheumatica
Would you like to know what lab results mean? DDxHub - Differential Diagnosis Hub helps to understand and explains your blood test.
Polymyalgia Rheumatica |
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Would you like to know what lab results mean? DDxHub - Differential Diagnosis Hub helps to understand and explains your blood test. |
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You have symptoms and blood work results. How do they correlate? What is the health condition? Some disorders have similar signs and laboratory values. DDxHub helps to define a right diagnosis. Run DDxHub now and enter symptoms and test results. |
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All information on this page is intended for your general knowledge only and does not provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. See Additional Information |
Polymyalgia rheumatica (PMR) is a relatively common clinical syndrome of unknown etiology that affects elderly individuals. It is characterized by proximal myalgia of the hip and shoulder girdles with accompanying morning stiffness that lasts for more than 1 hour. Approximately 15% of patients with polymyalgia rheumatica develop giant cell arteritis (GCA), and 40-50% of patients with giant cell arteritis have associated polymyalgia rheumatica. Despite the similarities of age and some of the clinical manifestations, the relationship between GCA and PMR is not yet clearly established. Typically a history of neck, shoulder girdle, and-or hip girdle stiffness and pain, occurring in patients age 50 years or older. Patients complain of difficulty rising from seated or prone positions, varying degrees of muscle tenderness, shoulder-hip bursitis, and-or oligoarthritis. More common in women. About 15% to 20% of patients with polymyalgia rheumatica (PMR) have giant cell arteritis (GCA); 40% to 60% of GCA patients have PMR. Diagnosis is made via history and with supportive laboratory tests indicating an elevated ESR or CRP. Rapid improvement is almost invariable within 24 to 48 hours with low-dose prednisone.
