Evaluation of PET/CT of Cephalic Arteries for the Diagnosis of Giant Cell Arteritis

NCT ID: NCT05246540

Last Updated: 2026-01-29

Basic Information

• Recruitment Status: COMPLETED
• Total Enrollment: 70 participants
• Study Classification: OBSERVATIONAL
• Study Start Date: 2020-01-01
• Study Completion Date: 2021-12-01

Brief Summary

Giant cell arteritis (GCA) is the most common vasculitis in adults. The diagnosis of GCA is evoked by the association of clinical signs and biological anomalies (inflammatory syndrome) in patients over 50 years of age. On the other hand, starting a treatment implies being certain of the diagnosis which requires performing a temporal artery biopsy under local anesthesia. This examination is therefore an invasive procedure for patients whose sensitivity is not optimal. This is why imaging techniques (echo-Doppler or MRI of the temporal arteries) have been developed to look for signs of vasculitis without the need to perform a biopsy. However, these examinations lack sensitivity (=falsely concluding the absence of GCA) and specificity (=falsely concluding the presence of GCA). Recently, advances in imaging, and in particular positron emission tomography (PET), have made it possible to visualize the cephalic arteries, including the temporal artery.

The aim of this study is therefore to evaluate the sensitivity and specificity of PET of the cephalic arteries for the diagnosis of GCA and to compare them with those of echo-Doppler and MRI of the temporal arteries.

Conditions

Giant Cell Arteritis

Study Design

• Observational Model Type: COHORT
• Study Time Perspective: RETROSPECTIVE

Study Groups

Patients

Data collection

Intervention Type: OTHER

Data collection

Interventions

Data collection

Data collection

Intervention Type: OTHER

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion Criteria

• Any patient for which the diagnosis of GCA is suspected and who underwent a cervical PET/CT

Exclusion Criteria

• previously diagnosed GCA, glycemia > 7 mmol/L, PET CT performed more than 72 h after introduction of glucocorticoids, age < 50 years

• Minimum Eligible Age: 18 Years
• Eligible Sex: ALL
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Sponsors

Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Dijon

OTHER

Sponsor Role: lead

Responsible Party

Responsibility Role: SPONSOR

Locations

Chu Dijon Bourgogne

Dijon, , France

Countries

France

References

Thibault T, Durand-Bailloud B, Soudry-Faure A, Greigert H, Drouet C, Devilliers H, Ramon A, Bejot Y, Martin L, Creuzot-Garcher C, Falvo N, Audia S, Cochet A, Bonnotte B, Alberini JL, Samson M. PET/CT of cranial arteries for a sensitive diagnosis of giant cell arteritis. Rheumatology (Oxford). 2023 Apr 3;62(4):1568-1575. doi: 10.1093/rheumatology/keac430.

Reference Type: RESULT

PMID: 35866984 (View on PubMed)

Other Identifiers

ALBERINI CHU 2020

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id