Background: Giant cell arteritis (GCA) is the most prevalent systemic vasculitis in people older than 50 years. Any delay in diagnosis impairs patients' quality of life and can lead to permanent damage, particularly vision loss.
Objective: To evaluate a diagnostic strategy for GCA using color Doppler ultrasound of the temporal artery as a first-line diagnostic test, temporal artery biopsy (TAB) as a secondary test, and physician expertise as the reference method.
Design: Prospective multicenter study with a 2-year follow-up. (ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT02703922).
Setting: Patients were referred by their general practitioner or ophthalmologist to a physician with extensive experience in GCA diagnosis and management in one of the participating centers: 4 general and 2 university hospitals.
Patients: 165 patients with high clinical suspicion of GCA, aged 79 years (IQR, 73 to 85 years).
Intervention: The diagnostic procedure was ultrasound, performed less than 7 days after initiation of corticosteroid therapy. Only ultrasound-negative patients underwent TAB.
Measurements: Bilateral temporal halo signs seen on ultrasound were considered positive. Ultrasound and TAB results were compared with physician-diagnosed GCA based on clinical findings and other imaging.
Results: Diagnosis of GCA was confirmed in 44%, 17%, and 21% of patients by ultrasound, TAB, and clinical expertise and/or other imaging tests, respectively. Their diagnosis remained unchanged at 1 month, and 2 years for those with available follow-up data. An alternative diagnosis was made in 18% of patients. The proportion of ultrasound-positive patients among patients with a clinical GCA diagnosis was 54% (95% CI, 45% to 62%).
Limitation: Small sample size, no blinding of ultrasound and TAB results, lack of an objective gold-standard comparator, and single diagnostic strategy.
Conclusion: By using ultrasound of the temporal arteries as a first-line diagnostic tool in patients with high clinical suspicion of GCA, further diagnostic tests for patients with positive ultrasound were avoided.
Primary funding source: Tender "Recherche CH-CHU Poitou-Charentes 2014."