Testing Overview
date: 2024-01-01
- urgently refer patients with suspected giant cell arteritis to specialist3
- diagnosis can be confirmed by either
- [temporal artery biopsy][123]
- [imaging][124]
- for temporal or other cranial arteries, [ultrasound][125] or [magnetic resonance imaging][126] (MRI)
- for aorta/extracranial arteries, [computed tomography][127] (CT), [positron emission tomography computed tomography][128] (PET-CT), MRI or ultrasound
- do not delay glucocorticoid therapy in patients with typical symptoms, increased inflammatory markers, and acute visual disturbance; diagnosis can still be confirmed after initiation of glucocorticoid therapy3
- [blood tests][130] may show elevation in erythrocyte sedimentation rate or C-reactive protein