Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Comparative Study
. 2020 Feb;79(2):262-267.
doi: 10.1136/annrheumdis-2019-216145. Epub 2019 Oct 24.

Clinical symptoms and associated vascular imaging findings in Takayasu's arteritis compared to giant cell arteritis

Affiliations
Comparative Study

Clinical symptoms and associated vascular imaging findings in Takayasu's arteritis compared to giant cell arteritis

Despina Michailidou et al. Ann Rheum Dis. 2020 Feb.

Abstract

Objective: To compare the presence of head, neck and upper extremity symptoms in patients with Takayasu's (TAK) and giant cell arteritis (GCA) and their association with vascular inflammation assessed by 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (FDG-PET) or arterial damage assessed by magnetic resonance angiography (MRA).

Methods: Patients with TAK and GCA underwent clinical and imaging assessments within 24 hours, blinded to each other. Vascular inflammation was defined as arterial FDG-PET uptake greater than liver by visual assessment. Arterial damage was defined as stenosis, occlusion, or aneurysm by MRA. Clinically reported symptoms were compared with corresponding imaging findings using generalised mixed model regression. Cranial symptoms were studied in association with burden of arterial disease in the neck using ordinal regression.

Results: Participants with TAK (n=56) and GCA (n=54) contributed data from 270 visits. Carotidynia was reported only in patients with TAK (21%) and was associated with vascular inflammation (p<0.01) but not damage (p=0.33) in the corresponding carotid artery. Posterior headache was reported in TAK (16%) and GCA (20%) but was only associated with corresponding vertebral artery inflammation and damage in GCA (p<0.01). Arm claudication was associated with subclavian artery damage (p<0.01) and inflammation (p=0.04) in TAK and with damage in GCA (p<0.01). Patients with an increased burden of damaged neck arteries were more likely to experience positional lightheadedness (p<0.01) or a major central nervous system event (p=0.01).

Conclusion: The distribution of symptoms and association with imaging abnormalities differs in patients with TAK and GCA. These findings may help clinicians predict associated FDG-PET and MRA findings based on a specific clinical symptom.

Clinical trial registration number: NCT02257866.

Keywords: Takayasu’s arteritis; giant cell arteritis; outcome assessment; vasculitis.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Competing interests: None declared.

Similar articles

Cited by

Publication types

MeSH terms

Substances

Associated data