Doppler ultrasonography in the diagnosis of giant cell arteritis

W A Schmidt1

  • 1Medical Centre for Rheumatology Berlin-Buch, Germany. schmidt.wa@t-online.de

Ultrasonography of the temporal arteries detects characteristic signs of vasculitis with a high sensitivity and specificity: a hypoechoic halo due to an oedema of the artery wall and stenoses. The use of modern scanners with high resolution is essential. A halo has to be displayed in two planes. It is always circumferential. The colour intensity must not be too strong, otherwise the colour may cover the halo. A hypoechoic halo is also seen in large vessel giant cell arteritis at the axillary and brachial arteries and at the temporal arteries in polyarteritis nodosa.

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