Acta ophthalmologica Scandinavica
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Acta Ophthalmol Scand · Aug 2002
ReviewVisual improvement with corticosteroid therapy in giant cell arteritis. Report of a large study and review of literature.
(1) To report the incidence and extent of visual improvement achieved by high-dose systemic corticosteroid treatment in eyes with visual loss due to giant-cell arteritis (GCA). (2) To understand the cause of the discrepancies between visual improvement revealed by routine visual acuity (VA) and by the central visual field in kinetic perimetry. (3) To review critically the contradictory literature on the effectiveness of corticosteroid therapy on visual recovery in GCA and to attempt to reconcile differences in the reported results. ⋯ In our study, only 4% of eyes with visual loss due to GCA improved, as judged by improvement in both VA and central visual field (by kinetic perimetry and Amsler grid). The data also suggest that there is a better (p = 0.065) chance of visual improvement with early diagnosis and immediate start of steroid therapy. Improvement in VA without associated improvement in the central visual field or Amsler grid may simply represent a learned ability to fixate eccentrically with more effective use of remaining vision: this factor could help explain a number of reported cases in the literature of improved VA after steroid treatment for GCA. To prevent further visual loss in either eye and for management of systemic manifestations of GCA, all patients must be treated on a long-term basis with adequate amounts of systemic corticosteroids.