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Early recognition of giant cell arteritis (GCA) is crucial to prevent complications such as blindness. Although the standard diagnostic tool is temporal artery biopsy, it is invasive and has limitations; many patients have normal “skip areas” and only unilateral involvement. Thus, negative biopsy results don't necessarily preclude high-dose steroid treatment when clinical suspicion is high. Ultrasound is thought to be specific but insensitive for diagnosing GCA. In this study, researchers examined use of high-resolution gadolinium-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in 171 patients with suspected GCA who underwent unilateral temporal artery biopsy by surgeons unaware of MRI results.
MRI revealed scalp-artery abnormalities in 60 patient…