Giant Cell Arteritis (GCA) is a systemic vasculitis 
involving medium to large sized vessels most commonly the cranial 
branches of the arteries originating from the aortic arch. 
It is called temporal arteritis too, because of frequent/ 
classic involvement of temporal artery in this vasculitis. 
All patients are more than 50 years old and women can be 
affected much more than men. 
The common clinical manifestations of GCA are recent 
headache, visual disturbance, polymyalgia rheumatica, jaw 
claudication, fever and/or anemia and especially tender and/or 
enlarged and/or pulseless temporal artery. 
Elevated Erythrocyte Sedimentation Rate (ESR) and 
anemia of normocytic/normochromic are common and the biopsy 
of temporal artery is the most important procedure within 
approaching towards the diagnosis of GCA. Compatible pathology 
for GCA is vascular and/or perivascular fibrinoid necrosis along 
with leukocyte infiltration and granuloma. 
A negative temporal artery biopsy can be seen in up to 
one-half of the cases with GCA. As you know, American College 
of Rheumatology (ACR) criteria is used for classification of GCA 
and it is not diagnostic. By this letter, the corresponding author 
wants to deliver a new criteria for early diagnosis of this disease. 
 
Keywords: Giant Cell Arteritis; Temporal Arteritis; ACR 
Criteria; ACR Revised Criteria