Temporal artery biopsy will only detect (part of) the cranial forms of giant cell arteritis. For the large vessel variant of this type of vasculitis, FDG-PET is the technique of choice. Since treatment of large vessel vasculitis implies long-term treatment with steroids, it is important to have a firm diagnosis. I suggest performing a FDG-PET scan in every patient in whom large vessel vasculiti...

PURPOSE To present a case of orbital cellulitis initially mimicking giant cell arteritis. CASE REPORT An 80-year-old man with a history of hypertension and type 2 diabetes mellitus was referred with a prominent progressive headache over the right temporal and periorbital areas. Non-contrast brain CT results were normal, but ESR was elevated. Giant cell arteritis was suspected initially. Howev...

Corticosteroids are used in the treatment of many rheumatological diseases including temporal arteritis. The gastrointestinal perforation during corticosteroid treatment is a serious complication. Colon perforation after steroid use was first reported by Beck et al in 1950.1 Although the pathophysiological mechanism is not understood clearly, it is claimed that steroids probably by disturbing t...

Definitive histological studies of giant-cell (temporal) arteritis have been published by several workers (Harrison, 1948; Heptinstall, Porter, and Barkley, 1954; McCormick and Neuberger, 1958). The lesions are fairly uniform and have involved all layers of many different arteries and veins-large and small, intracranial as well as extracranial. The distinctive histological finding in this disea...

To assess the diagnostic usefulness of temporal artery biopsy in temporal arteritis (TA) and establish clinical features capable of predicting its positivity we have retrospectively studied the biopsy specimens and the clinical features of 103 patients who had undergone temporal artery biopsy. Temporal artery biopsy reached a positive predictive value of 90.2% with respect to the final diagnosi...

PURPOSE To analyse the diagnostic yield of temporal artery biopsy in the diagnosis of giant cell arteritis, and to correlate these results with the clinical and laboratory features which indicate it, in an attempt to increase the efficiency of this technique and try to "save biopsies". METHODS A retrospective cohort study including suspected giant cell arteritis cases in which a temporal arte...

Objective Previous studies, although inconclusive, have suggested possible associations of environmental risk factors with the development of giant cell arteritis (GCA). We aim to investigate seasonal influence on the incidence of GCA across Australia and New Zealand. Methods In establishing an international study to investigate the molecular aetiology of GCA, archived temporal artery biopsy ...