The Great Debate: Ultrasound vs. Temporal Artery Biopsy in Giant Cell Arteritis

In summary, ultrasound is becoming an increasingly important and highly practical tool for the diagnosis of GCA; however, its implementation is limited by a requirement for technical expertise in performing and interpreting the scans. Likewise, due to the risk of false positive ultrasounds and cases of intermediate pre-test probability, biopsy and other imaging modalities remain important tools in the rheumatologist’s diagnostic armamentarium.

Michael Cammarata, MD, RhMSUS, is an assistant professor of medicine at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore.

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