Main characteristics of diagnostic studies on ultrasound in GCA
| Study ID | n | n Female (%) | Inclusion criteria | Reference standard | n Final diagn GCA (%) | n TAB+ (%) | n LV-GCA | Investigated structures | Elementary lesions | RoB |
| Schmidt et al 17 | 112 | NR | Suspected GCA+PMR | ACR criteria or TAB | 30 (27) | 21 (78) | NR | TA | halo, stenosis/occlusion, halo/stenosis/occlusion | High |
| LeSar et al 18 | 32 | 21 (66) | Suspected GCA | TAB | 7 (22) | 7 (100) | NR | TA | halo stenosis halo/stenosis | High |
| Nesher et al 19 | 69 | NR | Suspected GCA | Clinical diagn 6 m or TAB | 14 (20) | 9 (64) | NR | TA | halo | High |
| Salvarani et al 20 | 86 | 55 (64) | Suspected GCA+PMR | ACR criteria or TAB | 20 (23) | 15 (75) | NR | TA | halo | High |
| Murgatroyd et al 21 | 26 | NR | Suspected GCA | TAB | 7 (27) | 7 (100) | NR | TA | halo | High |
| Pfadenhauer and Weber22 | 67 | 51 (76) | Suspected GCA | ACR criteria or TAB | 40 (60) | 33 (83) | NR | TA, occipital | halo/stenosis/occlusion | High |
| Reinhard et al 23 | 83 | 49 (59) | NR | ACR crit or TAB | 43 (52) | 33 (77) | NR | TA | halo occlusion | High |
| Romera-Villegas et al 24 | 68 | 48 (71) | Suspected GCA | TAB | 22 (32) | 22 (100) | NR | TA | halo/stenosis/occlusion | Low |
| Karahaliou et al 25 | 55 | 30 (55) | ESR >50 mm/h, headache, jaw claudication, fever, PMR, TA tenderness, visual impairment | Clinical diagn 3 m or TAB | 22 (40) | 18 (82) | NR | TA | halo stenosis | Low |
| Pfadenhauer and Behr26 | 132 | NR | Suspected GCA+US* | Clinical diagn (retrospectively confirmed) | 132 (73) | 89 (75) | NR | TA, carotid, vertebral, periorbital | halo/stenosis | Mod |
| Zaragozá-Garciá et al 27 | 18 | 14 (61) | Suspected GCA | TAB | 5 (28) | 5 (100) | NR | TA | halo halo/stenosis | High |
| Aschwanden et al 29 | 72 | 45 (63) | Suspected GCA suspected LV-GCA (PET+, ESR >50 mm/h, age >50 years) | ACR criteria | 38 (53) | 35 (95) | 12 | TA, carotid, vertebral, subclavian, axillary, femoral, popliteal | halo/stenosis | Mod |
| Habib et al 28 | 32 | 19 (59) | ESR >50 mm/h, headache, jaw claudication, fever, PMR, TA tenderness, visual impairment | Clinical diagn 3 m or TAB | 16 (50) | 15 (94) | NR | TA | halo | Mod |
| Aschwanden et al 30 | 80 | 55 (69) | Suspected GCA | ACR criteria | 43 (54) | 20 (53) | NR | TA | halo stenosis occlussion compression | Low |
| Diamantopoulos et al 31 | 88 | 54 (61) | CRP >5 mg/dL, headache, jaw claudication, fever, PMR, TA tenderness, visual impairment | Clinical diagn 6 m or TAB | 46 (52) | 26 (67) | 17 | TA, carotids, axillary | halo | Low |
| Aschwanden et al 32 | 60 | 40 (67) | Suspected GCA | ACR criteria | 24 (40) | 13 (72) | NR | TA | ompression | Low |
| Luqmani et al 6 | 381 | 273 (72) | Suspected GCA | Clinical diagn 6 m or TAB | 257 (67) | 101 (39) | Yes (n NR) | TA, axillary | halo/stenosis/occlusion | Mod |
*Suspected GCA+US, only patients with suspected disease and an available ultrasound examination were included.
ACR, American College of Rheumatology; APR, acute phase reactants; CRP, C-reactive protein; diagn, diagnosis; ESR, erythrocyte sedimentation rate; GCA, giant cell arteritis; LV, large vessel; mod, moderate; m, months; n, number of finally included patients in analysis; n female, number of females; n final diagn GCA, number of patients finally diagnosed with GCA; NR, not reported; n LV-GCA, number of GCA patients with large vessel involvement; n TAB+, number of positive temporal artery biopsy results in finally diagnosed GCA patients; PMR, polymyalgia rheumatica; PET+, imaging signs suggestive for LV-GCA in positron emission tomography; RoB, overall appraisal of risk of bias and concerns about applicability (arbitrarily defined) (high, in the case of concern on ≥5/10 risk of bias items or concern on 3/3 applicability items out of the QUADAS-2 tool; moderate, in case of concern on 4/10 RoB items and/or concern on ≥1/3 applicability items out of the QUADAS-2 tool; low, in case of concern on ≤3/3 risk of bias items and no concern about applicability); TA, temporal artery/arteries; TAB+, patients with a positive histology suggesting vasculitis.