Evaluating the diagnostic accuracy of the 2022 ACR/EULAR classification criteria for giant cell arteritis in routine clinical practice

Aims: The 2022 American College of Rheumatology (ACR)/European Alliance of Associations for Rheumatology (EULAR) classification criteria for giant cell arteritis (GCA) were developed to enhance diagnostic accuracy by incorporating advanced imaging modalities and addressing large vessel involvement. This study evaluates the performance of these criteria in routine clinical care. Methods: This study was retrospective and single-center. The results included 25 GCA patients routinely followed at a tertiary rheumatology center from March 2017 to January 2024. The accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values, and area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve (AUC) of the classification criteria were compared. Results: The sensitivity (92.0%), specificity (92.9%), positive predictive value (92.0%), negative predictive value (92.9%), accuracy (92.4%) and AUC (0.979 (0.925-0.998)) of the 2022 ACR/EULAR classification criteria for GCA were higher than those of the 1990 ACR classification criteria for GCA (88.0%, 85.7%, 84.6%, 88.9% and 86.8%, respectively), and the difference in AUC was statistically significant (0.871 (0.770-0.973), p