[Value of the Doppler-ultrasonography for the diagnosis of temporal arteritis].
OBJECTIVE
The aim of this study was to investigate the accuracy of color Doppler-ultrasonography (CDU) compared with biopsy for the diagnosis of temporal arteritis (TA).


METHODS
Twenty-three patients with suspected TA on the basis of clinical criteria were evaluated with CDU prior to temporal artery biopsy. The presence of a hypoechoic halo, suggesting edema of the inflamed vessel, and inflammatory stenoses were registered. Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), negative predictive value (NPV) and eficiency or global test value (GTV) were evaluated.


RESULTS
All patients completed a bilateral CDU examination of temporal arteries, and in 72% of patients the biopsy was negative for TA. When the presence of an halo in CDU examination was regarded as determinant for disease, sensitivity, specificity, PPV, NPV and GTV compared with TA histologic confirmation were 80%, 92%, 80%, 92% and 88%, respectively. When the criteria used was presence of the halo sign with or without inflammatory stenosis, the values were 100%, 77%, 62.5%, 100% and 83% respectively.


CONCLUSIONS
Because of the high sensitivity and NPV, we consider CDU as a good screening test for the diagnosis of TA.
Zaragozá García
José Miguel
JM
Servicio de Angiología, Cirugía Vascular y Endovascular, Hospital Universitario Dr. Peset. Valencia, España. jozagar@hotmail.com
Plaza Martínez
Angel
A
Briones Estébanez
Johissy Lissethe
JL
Martínez Parreño
Carlos
C
Gómez Palonés
Francisco Julián
FJ
Ortiz Monzón
Eduardo
E
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001706:Biopsy; D005260:Female; D013700:Giant Cell Arteritis / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D013699:Temporal Arteries / Q000473:pathology; D018608:Ultrasonography, Doppler