ArticlePlastic and reconstructive surgery. Global open2019
The Impact of Temporal Artery Biopsy at a UK Tertiary Plastic Surgery Unit.
Article in Plastic and reconstructive surgery. Global open, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
6 citing papers in PubMed, 7 citations in OpenAlex.
- Temporal artery biopsy in polyarteritis nodosa: a case-based narrative literature review.Clinical rheumatology · 2026Review
- Questioning the Utility of Temporal Artery Biopsy in Giant Cell Arteritis: A Negative Biopsy May Facilitate Decision-making.Plastic and reconstructive surgery. Global open · 2023Article
- Optimizing the use of temporal artery biopsy: a retrospective study.Journal of otolaryngology - head & neck surgery = Le Journal d'oto-rhino-laryngologie et de chirurgie cervico-faciale · 2023Article
- Temporal Artery Biopsy Debate: Positive TAB Result Prolongs Steroid Use in Giant Cell Arteritis.Plastic and reconstructive surgery. Global open · 2022Article
- Necessity of Temporal Artery Biopsy for Giant Cell Arteritis: A Systematic Review.Plastic and reconstructive surgery. Global open · 2022Article
- Clinical pathways for patients with giant cell arteritis during the COVID-19 pandemic: an international perspective.The Lancet. Rheumatology · 2021Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Guidelines recommend temporal artery biopsy (TAB) for patients suspected of having giant cell arteritis (GCA). We evaluated the impact of TAB on the diagnosis and management of patients with suspected GCA at a tertiary plastic surgery unit.
methodsA retrospective review of all TAB procedures performed at our centre over 7 years was performed. One hundred and one patients were included in the study. Patients were classified into 3 diagnostic groups: confirmed (positive TAB), presumed (negative TAB with high clinical suspicion) and unlikely (negative TAB with low clinical suspicion). The clinical presentation and management for each group were compared.
resultsThe average American College of Rheumatology (ACR) score was 3.07. The number of patients with an ACR score of ≥3 before TAB was 72 (71.3%) and remained the same after TAB. The number of patients who remained on steroid therapy was lower in the group with an unlikely diagnosis of GCA compared to the group with a confirmed diagnosis (p<0.05). Conversely, there was no significant difference in steroid therapy between those with a presumed and confirmed diagnosis (p>0.05).
conclusionsThis study found a significant difference in steroid treatment between those with confirmed GCA and those where the diagnosis was unlikely showing that TAB may support decisions regarding steroid therapy. However, TAB was inappropriately requested for patients whose pre-TAB ACR score was ≥3 as this score is sufficient for the diagnosis of GCA. Therefore, the use of TAB should be limited to cases of diagnostic uncertainty.
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.