Practice Preferences: Temporal Artery Biopsy versus Doppler Ultrasound in the Work-Up of Giant Cell Arteritis

Abstract

To determine whether temporal artery biopsy (TABx) or Doppler ultrasound (US) of the temporal artery is the preferred confirmatory test for giant cell arteritis, an online survey of ophthalmologists and neurologists in North America, Europe and Israel was conducted in 2019; Canadian rheumatologists were also included. There were 406 survey participants with an estimated survey response rate of 18%. Ninety-four per cent of North American practitioners preferred TABx compared with 74% of their European counterparts. Two per cent of North American practitioners preferred Doppler US versus 24% of European physicians. Regional differences were statistically significant (p < .001).