Role of imaging studies in the diagnosis and evaluation of giant cell arteritis in Japanese: report of eight cases.

The objective of this study is to clarify the characteristics and imaging results of Japanese patients with giant cell arteritis (GCA). Eight patients with biopsy-proven GCA were enrolled. Their clinical data and imaging results were retrospectively examined from their medical records. All the patients met the criteria for the classification of GCA by the American College of Rheumatology. Although the clinical manifestations are similar to those previously reported, none of the eight patients presented ocular symptoms, and half of them presented jaw claudication. Ultrasonography (US) of temporal artery showed the halo sign in all the patients. Fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (FDG-PET) was performed in four patients and indicated the presence of aortitis of the patients. US is a quick and noninvasive test to detect inflammation of temporal artery, and FDG-PET is very helpful for early diagnosis of aortitis in GCA. Awareness of the disease and appropriate imaging tests will result in diagnosis of GCA.