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Final Program


Schedule at a Glance
Legend
Program: Scientific Session
General Topic: Clinical

Great Debate: Giant Cell Arteritis Ultrasound vs. Vasculitis

Tuesday, October 28, 2025
10:00 AM – 11:00 AM Central Time

    Moderator(s)

  • MJ

    Mats Junek, MD, MSc

    McMaster University
    Hamilton, Ontario, Canada

    Disclosure(s): AbbVie/Abbott: Advisor or Review Panel Member (Terminated, January 24, 2025), Consultant (Terminated, January 24, 2025); Roche: Unrestriected educational funding (Terminated, December 31, 2024)

  • BA

    Brendan Antiochos, MD

    Johns Hopkins
    CLARKSVILLE, Maryland, United States

    Disclosure(s): No financial relationships with ineligible companies to disclose

    • Session Coordinator(s)

  • AA

    Anca Askanase, MD, MPH

    Director
    Columbia University Medical Center
    New York, New York, United States

    Disclosure(s): Alumis: Advisor or Review Panel Member (Ongoing); Amgen: Advisor or Review Panel Member (Terminated, August 15, 2024); AstraZeneca: Grant/Research Support (Ongoing), Speaker/Honoraria (includes speakers bureau, symposia, and expert witness) (Ongoing); Bristol-Myers Squibb(BMS): Advisor or Review Panel Member (Ongoing), Grant/Research Support (Ongoing); Cabaletta: Grant/Research Support (Ongoing); Genentech: Grant/Research Support (Ongoing); GlaxoSmithKlein(GSK): Consultant (Ongoing); Idorsia: Grant/Research Support (Ongoing); Janssen: Advisor or Review Panel Member (Ongoing); NKARTA: Grant/Research Support (Ongoing); Novartis: Advisor or Review Panel Member (Ongoing); Sanofi: Grant/Research Support (Ongoing); UCB: Advisor or Review Panel Member (Ongoing), Grant/Research Support (Ongoing)

Temporal artery (TA) ultrasound has largely replaced TA biopsy to establish a diagnosis of GCA. However, the ACR guideline continues to recommend TA biopsy as the diagnostic modality of choice. Experts will review data supporting various DX modalities for GCA, including the hurdles associated with implementing each.

Learning Objectives:

  • Identify the role of ultrasound for establishing a diagnosis of GCA
  • Recognize the advantages and pitfalls of using TA Bx to diagnose GCA
  • Relate the technical difficulties associated with implementing ultrasound-based diagnosis of GCA in the ultrasound

Presentations:

  • 10:00 AM – 10:30 AM Central Time
    Ultrasound Should Replace Biopsy for the Diagnosis of Giant Cell Arteritis

    Speaker: Wolfgang Schmidt, MD, MACR – Waldfriede Hospital Berlin, Rheumatology

  • 10:30 AM – 11:00 AM Central Time
    Ultrasound Should Not Replace Biopsy for the Diagnosis of Giant Cell Arteritis

    Speaker: Peter Grayson, MD, MSc – National Institutes of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS), National Institutes of Health (NIH)