Criteria for Large Vessel Vasculitis (Giant Cell vs Takayasu Arteritis) from the International Consensus Conference on the Nomenclature of Systemic Vasculitis (Chapel Hill Conference)
Giant cell (temporal) and Takayasu are the forms of large vessel vasculitis with criteria proposed at an International Consensus Conference held at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
Lesion: granulomatous arteritis affecting the aorta and its major branches. Chronic disease may show only chronic sclerosis.
Vessel
Involvement
venules
no
capillaries
no
arterioles
no
small arteries
with giant cell arteritis
medium-sized arteries
yes
large arteries
yes
Parameter
Giant Cell Arteritis
Takayasu Arteritis
age of the patient
>= 50 years of age
< 50 years of age
involvement of temporal artery
common
unlikely
polymyalgia rheumatica
often
unlikely
Other forms of vasculitis (Wegener's granulomatosis and microscopic polyangiitis) can affect the temporal artery.
The presence of glomerulonephritis suggests another form of vasculitis.
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