Objective: To evaluate the utility of ultrasound in aiding the diagnosis of giant cell arteritis (GCA), in monitoring the response to corticotherapy, and in detecting early relapses. Methods: A pilot study, prospective, included 10 patients with suspected GCA. All patients underwent ultrasound examination of both temporal arteries before temporal artery biopsy (TAB), 3 weeks after starting treatment, and 3 months after diagnosis. For this study, the his-tological findings alone were used to

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... ne if patients were suffering from GCA. The findings on ultrasound were compared with the results of biopsy. The best place to perform TAB was observed by ultrasound. Results: All patients with positive biopsy were detected with ultrasound. No false positives were observed on ultrasound. The results presented give a sensibility, specificity, and positive predictive value of 100% for the use of ultrasound in the diagnosis of GCA. Two relapses were detected early by ultrasound during the follow-up. Conclusions: This pilot study suggests that eco-doppler may be a useful tool in diagnosis and clinic follow-up in patients with suspected GCA.