Increased vertebral canal diameter measured by ultrasonography as a sign of vasculitis in patients with giant cell arteritis

IntroductionThe diagnosis of giant cell arteritis (GCA) by ultrasonography including large vessels, apart from the temporal artery increases the sensibility of the study and informs about the risk of specific complications. However, there is less information about the study of these arteries, whose affection carries higher proportion of severe complications.ObjectivesTo describe and analyze the value of the diameter of the cervical vertebral canal of the vertebral artery (VA) as a sign of vertebral vasculitis (VV) related to GCA and estimate the risk of stroke complications.Materials and methodsObservational study of a population that includes patients with GCA with and without VA vasculitis as well as healthy subjects. We evaluated whether there were differences in VA diameter in the groups and, if so, we estimated the diagnostic capacity of the variable that best defines VA diameter using a ROC curve. Cut-off points with their associated reliability chosen thereafter.ResultsThere were 347 subjects included:107 with GCA of whom 37 had vertebral vasculitis, 240 healthy controls. In patients with GCA and VV, the VA diameter was increased (No GCA 3.4 mm, GCA without VV 3.6 mm, GCA with VV 5.2 mm p