Giant Cell Arteritis: Diagnostic Considerations in a Veterans Administration Hospital Cohort

GCA is one of the most important ophthalmic emergencies, requiring prompt empiric treatment and diagnosis. As new immunotherapy becomes available and diagnostic algorithms are refined, GCA is gaining renewed attention.1- 3 However, GCA diagnosis specific to veteran populations has not previously been described. We hypothesize that due to the high rates of medical comorbidities and the disparate prevalence of male versus female veterans, there are inherent differences between veteran and non-veteran patients driving the decision for temporal artery biopsy (TAB) in this cohort.