Baseline characteristics and clinical patterns
| Laboratory findings | C reactive protein mg/L | 82.8±63.5 mg/L | |
| Erythrocyte sedimentation rate 1st hour | 65±29 mm/hour | ||
| CDS findings | Temporal arteritis | 33, 3% (N=20) | |
| Clinical patterns | Cranial symptoms | Headache | 40% (N=24) |
| Vision impairment | 13.3% (N=8) | ||
| Jaw claudication | 6.7% (N=4) | ||
| Amaurosis fugax | 1.7% (N=1) | ||
| PMR symptoms | 31.7% (N=19) | ||
| Systemic symptoms | Weight loss | 46.7% (N=28) | |
| Fatigue | 43.3% (N=26) | ||
| Night sweat | 28.3% (N=17) | ||
| Cough | 25% (N=15) | ||
| Fever | 11.7% (N=7) | ||
| Treatment | Mean cumulative prednisone dose in GC-treated patients (N=16) | 465.1±538.5 mg | |
CDS, colour Doppler sonography; GC, glucocorticoid; PMR, polymyalgia rheumatica.