Digital [ 18 F]FDG PET/CT as first-line diagnostic modality for cranial giant cell arteritis. | ScholarDeck

Paper

Digital [ 18 F]FDG PET/CT as first-line diagnostic modality for cranial giant cell arteritis.

New research · Radiology

European journal of nuclear medicine and molecular imaging · 2w

Cross-sectionalEuropean journal of nuclear medicine and molecular imaging· Aug 2026

Digital [ 18 F]FDG PET/CT as first-line diagnostic modality for cranial giant cell arteritis.

Gad Abikhzer, Aubert Roy, Maxime Samson … Jean-Louis Alberini

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Nuclear & Molecular ImagingCross-sectionalDiagnosisQ1IF 5.8

Adding cranial assessment raised PET/CT sensitivity for giant cell arteritis to 86.4%.

Digital [ 18 F]FDG PET/CT as first-line diagnostic modality for cranial giant cell arteritis.

Gad Abikhzer … Jean-Louis Alberini

European journal of nuclear medicine and molecular imaging · Aug 2026 · Q1 in Radiology

Purpose

Diagnosis of giant cell arteritis (giant cell arteritis) is challenging and relies mainly on temporal artery biopsy and/or Doppler ultrasound (doppler ultrasound).

Methods

Aged ≥ 50 years with suspected giant cell arteritis based on classical symptoms and inflammatory markers were enrolled.

n = 84 patients

Results

adding cranial imaging catches most true giant cell arteritis cases PET/CT alone would miss

68.2%

Sensitivity

92.5%

Specificity

More results

Of 92 enrolled subjects, 8 were excluded as they did not undergo doppler ultrasound.

Giant cell arteritis was diagnosed in 44/84 patients.

Doppler ultrasound demonstrated sensitivity 68.2% (95%CI: 52.4-81.4%) and specificity 92.5% (95%CI: 79.6-98.4%).

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Conclusion

Digital [ 18 F]FDG PET/CT demonstrates high diagnostic accuracy for the diagnosis of C-giant cell arteritis, supporting its potential role as a first-line modality in the evaluation of suspected giant cell arteritis.

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