ABSTRACT

Giant cell arteritis is usually common in adults over 65 years and in women.It is especially a large vessel vasculitis that affects the aorta and its main branches or extracranial branches of carotid arter. The final diagnosis is made histopathologically by the detection of vasculitis findings. However, because of the segmental involvement of the temporal arteries, biopsy confirmation may not always be possible. PET/CT is a hybrid method that allows both anatomical and metabolic imaging in a patient group with suspected large vessel vasculitis in which the unknown origin of fever and inflammation are not detected and the biopsy is negative. In this presentation, we aim to share PET/CT images of three patients who were referred to our clinic with preliminary diagnosis of giant cell arteritis.

Keywords: Giant cell arteritis, large vessel arteritis, 18F-FDG PET/CT