Temporal artery biopsy for diagnosing giant cell arteritis: the longer, the better?

Abstract
Objective: To investigate the relation between temporal artery biopsy (TAB) length and diagnostic sensitivity for giant cell arteritis. Methods: Histological TAB reports generated from four hospital pathology departments were reviewed for demographics, histological findings, and formalin fixed TAB lengths. A biopsy was considered positive for giant cell arteritis if there was a mononuclear cell infiltrate predominating at the media–intima junction or in the media. Results: Among 1821 TAB reports reviewed, 287 (15.8%) were excluded because of missing data, sampling errors, or age Conclusions: A fixed TAB length of at least 0.5 cm could be sufficient to make a histological diagnosis of giant cell arteritis.

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