Clinical, laboratory and US findings of patients referred to the fast-track clinic for suspected GCA before and after lockdown
| Total n=81 | 8-month period previous to lockdown (July 2019–February 2020) n=50 | 8-month period after lockdown (March 2020–October 2020) n=31 | P value | |
| Age (years), mean (SD) | 74.1 (11.2) | 75 (10.8) | 72.7 (11.8) | 0.394 |
| Female, n (%) | 25 (30.9) | 18 (36) | 7 (22.6) | 0.204 |
| Baseline use of steroids, n (%) | 37 (46.3) | 26 (53.1) | 11 (35.5) | 0.124 |
| Temporal artery biopsy positive (n=16), n (%) | 5 (31.3) | 1 (11.1) | 4 (57.1) | 0.049 |
| 18F-FDG-PET/CT positive (n=23), n (%) | 10 (43.5) | 3 (33.3) | 7 (50) | 0.669 |
| Fulfilling 1990 GCA criteria, n (%) | 18 (22.2) | 10 (20) | 8 (25.8) | 0.541 |
| PMR diagnosis before US examination, n (%) | 27 (33.3) | 20 (40) | 7 (22.6) | 0.106 |
| Headache, n (%) | 35 (43.2) | 26 (52) | 9 (29) | 0.043 |
| Scalp tenderness, n (%) | 5 (6.2) | 4 (8) | 1 (3.2) | 0.386 |
| Jaw claudication, n (%) | 12 (14.8) | 7 (14) | 5 (16.1) | 0.793 |
| Visual symptoms, n (%) | 14 (17.3) | 8 (16) | 6 (19.1) | 0.698 |
| Fever, n (%) | 10 (12.3) | 5 (10) | 5 (16.1) | 0.415 |
| Myalgias, n (%) | 40 (49.4) | 24 (48) | 16 (51.6) | 0.752 |
| AION, n (%) | 2 (2.5) | 0 (0) | 2 (6.5) | 0.14 |
| Abnormal TA clinical examination, n (%) | 5 (6.2) | 4 (8) | 1 (3.2) | 0.386 |
| CRP (mg/dL), mean (SD) | 5 (6.2) | 3.4 (5.1) | 7.6 (7.1) | 0.008 |
| ESR (mm/hour), mean (SD) | 56.2 (34.7) | 45.7 (30.5) | 73.9 (34.5) | 0.002 |
| Haemoglobin (g/dL), mean (SD) | 12.5 (1.8) | 12.8 (1.6) | 11.7 (1.9) | 0.019 |
| Platelets 109/L, mean (SD) | 283.8 (113.7) | 254.1 (91.3) | 342.1 (131.6) | 0.001 |
| Positive US findings, n (%) | 23 (28.4) | 11 (22) | 12 (38.7) | 0.115 |
| Temporal artery positive US findings, n (%) | 15 (18.5) | 8 (16) | 7 (22.6) | 0.459 |
| Axillary or subclavian positive US findings, n (%) | 13 (16) | 6 (12) | 7 (22.6) | 0.207 |
| Temporal artery+axillary or subclavian positive US findings, n (%) | 5 (6.2) | 3 (6) | 2 (6.5) | 0.935 |
| Halo sign positive, n (%) | 20 (24.7) | 8 (16) | 12 (38.7) | 0.021 |
| Compression sign positive, n (%) | 13 (16) | 5 (10) | 8 (25.8) | 0.06 |
| GCA clinical diagnosis, n (%) | 25 (30.9) | 11 (22) | 14 (45.2) | 0.028 |
AION, anterior ischaemic optic neuropathy; CRP, C reactive protein; ESR, erythrocyte sedimentation rate; FDG, fluorodeoxyglucose; GCA, giant cell arteritis; PET, positron emission tomography; PMR, polymyalgia rheumatica; TA, Temporal artery; US, ultrasound.