French recommendations for the use of Imaging in Giant Cell Arteritis
OBJECTIVES: We aimed at developing French recommendations for the use of imaging modalities in Giant Cell Arteritis (GCA). METHODS: F]-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (FDG-PET/CT) for diagnosing, monitoring, and predicting the outcome of GCA. The task force, composed of 23 physicians, proposed the recommendations through an iterative process based on evidence and expert opinion, with consensus determined by anonymous voting. RESULTS: The task force recommends an early imaging test for patients with suspected GCA. The recommendations propose DUS as the first-line imaging test for all patients with suspected GCA. FDG-PET, cranial MRI, aortic MRI and CT-scan can be used as alternative methods to assess the cranial and/or extracranial arteries, providing imaging evidence of vasculitis. Imaging of large vessels is also useful for determining prognosis and follow-up procedures. In patients with suspected visual GCA, ophtalmoscopic fundus examination, optical coherence tomography (OCT) and retinal angiography should be performed in emergency. Although imaging is not routinely recommended for follow-up, it may be used to assess a persistent vascular inflammatory process in patients suspected of relapse, especially when inflammatory biomarkers are unreliable. In this situation, vascular activity scores are recommended for follow-up. Imaging may be used to monitor long-term structural damage, particularly in areas where vascular inflammation has previously been detected. CONCLUSIONS: The recommendations offer guidance on the use of imaging for diagnosing and evaluating patients with GCA.
Authors
- Bastien Jamet (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2145-9182)
- Sandrine Jousse
- Jean‐Michel Serfaty (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8801-1414)
- Simon Parreau (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1790-2962)
- Florent L. Besson (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9826-3890)
- Christine Rodriguez-Régent (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4283-5850)
- F.X. Lapébie
- A. Lecler
- Quentin Gomes de Pinho
- Laurent Sailler
- Raphaèle Seror
- David Saadoun
- Catherine Vignal-Clermont
- Hubert de Boysson
- Yann Nguyen
- Alban Redheuil
- Maxime Samson
- Marie-Pierre Gobin-Metteil
- Marie Morard
- Xavier Puechal
- Emmanuel Heron
- Olivier Espitia
- Christian Agard
- Alexis Regent
- Valérie Devauchelle-Pensec
Institutions
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (FR)
- Inserm (FR)
- Université de Bourgogne (FR)
- Université Paris Cité (FR)
- Commissariat à l'Énergie Atomique et aux Énergies Alternatives (FR)
- Université Paris-Saclay (FR)
- Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Toulouse (FR)
- Sorbonne Université (FR)
- Institut National de Recherche pour l'Agriculture, l'Alimentation et l'Environnement (FR)
- Université Sorbonne Paris Nord (FR)
- Sorbonne Paris Cité (FR)
- Centre de Recherche en Cancérologie et Immunologie Intégrée Nantes Angers (FR)
- Hôpital Cochin (FR)
- Assistance Publique – Hôpitaux de Paris (FR)
- Centre de Référence des Maladies Autoinflammatoires et des Amyloses (FR)
- Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Caen Normandie (FR)
- Hôpital Nord (FR)
- Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Limoges (FR)
- Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital (FR)
- Fondation Ophtalmologique Adolphe de Rothschild (FR)
- Centre Hospitalier Sainte-Anne (FR)
- Fondation de Rothschild (FR)
- CEA Paris-Saclay (FR)
- Institut de Psychiatrie et Neurosciences de Paris (FR)
- Centre Hospitalier Régional Universitaire de Brest (FR)
- Institut du Thorax (FR)
- FHU Neurovasc (FR)
- Bicêtre Hospital (FR)
- Nantes Université (FR)
- Université de Caen Normandie (FR)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Joint Bone Spine
- Published
- 2026-05-01
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbspin.2026.106073
- Primary Topic
- Vasculitis and related conditions
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00