Headache-Related Characteristics of Biopsy-Confirmed Giant Cell Arteritis and the Relationship of Transmural Inflammation With Artery Tenderness and Chordal Thickening

Overview

Journal Cureus

Specialty Biomedical Engineering

Date 2024 Apr 25

PMID 38659551

Authors

Sho Shimohama

Noboru Imai

Takuya Tsubata

Kei Shinohara

Asami Moriya

Nobuyasu Yagi

Takashi Konishi

Masahiro Serizawa

Kazuhiro Tashiro

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Introduction: Giant cell arteritis (GCA) is characterized by headaches, but few studies have examined the detailed characteristics of pathologically confirmed cases. We investigated the characteristics of GCA patients, particularly headache, and their correlation with pathological findings.

Methods: We retrospectively analyzed 26 patients (median age: 77.5 years, male: 38.4%) with GCA who underwent superficial temporal artery (STA) biopsy at the Japanese Red Cross Shizuoka Hospital between May 2001 and February 2022. All patients fulfilled the American College of Rheumatology and European League Against Rheumatism classification criteria for GCA. We focused on the relationship between clinical features, especially headache, and pathological findings.

Results: Twenty-four patients had unilateral, nonpulsatile, intermittent headaches. Transmural inflammation (TMI), a characteristic pathology of GCA, was present in 14 patients. Bivariate analysis revealed significant associations between the TMI and STA-related tenderness (odds ratio [OR]=11, 95% confidence interval [CI]=1.14 to 106.43, p=0.046) and the TMI and STA-related chordal thickening (OR=0.19, 95% CI=0.068 to 0.52, p=0.021).

Conclusions: Headache in GCA patients was often unilateral, nonpulsatile, and intermittent. This study highlights the significant association of TMI with STA tenderness and ligamentous thickening, which has not been reported previously. Abnormal STA findings were significantly associated with pathological changes in GCA patients, emphasizing the importance of these lesions in predicting GCA.

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