Temporal arteriography and immunofluorescence as diagnostic tools in temporal arteritis.

Nineteen patients with polymyalgia rheumatica and/or temporal arteritis were classified by degree of clinical and arteriographic abnormality, biopsy grade of arteriosclerosis, and giant cell arteritis (GCA). Temporal arteriograms were very sensitive in detecting abnormal arteries. However, the assumption of some previous studies, that certain angiographic abnormalities are synonymous with GCA, was not supported, since biopsies from distal sites in a Class I and a Class II arteriogram revealed only arteriosclerosis. Class III arteriograms correlated with proximal biopsies of GCA. Immunofluorescent staining was negative in all cases.