Vasculitis & polymyalgia rheumatica
Ultrasonography-led multimodal diagnostic pathway for giant cell arteritis
Authors' conclusion
This is the first real-world evidence of the utility of ultrasonography for the diagnosis of giant cell arteritis as part of a multimodal diagnostic pathway.
Study context
- Population
- Consecutive referrals for a new diagnosis of GCA
- Participants
- 1,000 consecutive referrals
- Comparison
- Superficial temporal artery US alone vs extended US plus a second test
- Outcome
- Sensitivity and NPV of the pathway for diagnosing GCA
Methodological detailsconsecutive referrals, protocolized examination, multimodal pathway
- Consecutive referrals
- Protocolized examination
- Multimodal pathway
Performance
As reported in the abstract
Sensitivity and NPV for diagnosing GCA
| Test or model | Sensitivity | NPV |
|---|---|---|
| Superficial temporal arteries alone | 62.3% | 84.7% |
| Extended US plus a second test | 95.7% | 98.0% |
Sensitivity
Superficial temporal arteries alone62.3%
Extended US plus a second test95.7%
NPV
Superficial temporal arteries alone84.7%
Extended US plus a second test98.0%
Further findings
Positive US for GCA
- Positive US
- 279/1000
- Bilateral superficial temporal arterial involvement
- 202
- Added yield of axillary artery US
- 53
- Added yield of other head/neck artery US
- 24
Second test results
- Referred for a second test
- 181
- Positive temporal artery biopsies
- 24/139
- Positive 18-FDG PET-CT scans
- 7/42
Original publication
Ultrasonography-led multimodal diagnostic pathway for giant cell arteritis. Rheumatology (Oxford). Published 14 September 2024. doi:10.
Composed by AI from the published abstract and checked against it. How Briefs are made →