Ultrasonography in Diagnosis and Follow-Up of Temporal Arteritis: An Update

Giant cell arteritis (GCA), also known as temporal arteritis (TA) is a relatively frequent primary systemic vasculitis affecting large and medium-sized arteries, in particular aorta and its main branches (Hunder, 2000). It occurs, by definition, in patients older than fifty with a peak between 70 and 80 years. The disease primarily affects whites, specifically those of northern European descent, and the highest worldwide incidence is reported to be in southern Norway with 32.8 per 100.000 people over the age of 50 affected (Richards et al., 2010). GCA affects women 2–3 times more commonly than men (Richards et al., 2010). The spectrum of clinical manifestations associated with TA includes a wide combination of symptoms and signs, ranging from tender and swollen temporal arteries, headache and jaw claudication to systemic and musculoskeletal symptoms such as fatigue, weight loss, lowgrade fever, polymyalgia rheumatica, arthralgias and tenosynovitis (Hunder, 2000). Irreversible visual loss secondary to ischemic optic neuropathy is the most serious and dreaded complication, so prompt diagnosis and treatment are mandatory to prevent it (Gonzalez-Gay et al., 2005; Hunder, 2000).