Role of imaging in diagnosis of and differentiation between vasculitides

Abstract

Improving quality and increased use of magnetic resonance imaging, computed tomography, ultrasonography, positron emission tomography and angiography for the diagnosis of vasculitis leads to a greater number of patients with the diagnosis of vascultis and a growing detection of involved anatomic areas. Imaging is important to determine the extension and involvement of organs in small-vessel vasculitides. Furthermore, these techniques offer characteristic findings, particularly for large- and medium-vessel vasculitides, and, therefore, play an important role for establishing the diagnosis. Classification and diagnostic criteria for polyarteritis nodosa, Kawasaki disease and Takayasu arteritis include imaging. New imaging techniques, such as magnetic resonance imaging and ultrasonography, delineate characteristic homogeneous wall swelling in temporal arteritis, large-vessel, giant-cell arteritis and idiopathic aortitis. Positron emission tomography demonstrates that large-artery involvement is much more com...