Giant cell arteritis-related aortitis with positive or negative temporal artery biopsy: a French multicentre study

Objective: To compare the clinical presentation and outcome of giant cell arteritis (GCA)-related aortitis according to the results of temporal artery biopsy (TAB).Method: Patients with GCA-related aortitis diagnosed between 2000 and 2017, who underwent TAB, were retrospectively included from a French multicentre database. They all met at least three American College of Rheumatology criteria for the diagnosis of GCA. Aortitis was defined by aortic wall thickening > 2 mm on computed tomography scan and/or an aortic aneurysm, associated with an inflammatory syndrome. Patients were divided into two groups [positive and negative TAB (TAB+, TAB-)], which were compared regarding aortic imaging characteristics and aortic events, at aortitis diagnosis and during follow-up.Results: We included 56 patients with TAB+ (70%) and 24 with TAB- (30%). At aortitis diagnosis, patients with TAB- were significantly younger than those with TAB+ (67.7 ± 9 vs 72.3 ± 7 years, p = 0.022). Initial clinical signs of GCA, inflammatory parameters, and glucocorticoid therapy were similar in both groups. Coronary artery disease and/or lower limb peripheral arterial disease was more frequent in TAB- patients (25% vs 5.3%, p = 0.018). Aortic wall thickness and type of aortic involvement were not significantly different between groups. Diffuse arterial involvement from the aortic arch was more frequent in TAB- patients (29.1 vs 8.9%, p = 0.03). There were no differences between the groups regarding overall, aneurism-free, relapse-free, and aortic event-free survival.Conclusion: Among patients with GCA-related aortitis, those with TAB- are characterized by younger age and increased frequency of diffuse arterial involvement from the aortic arch compared to those with TAB+, without significant differences in terms of prognosis.