1990 American College of Rheumatology criteria for the classification of giant cell (temporal) arteritis (traditional format)
| Criterion | Definition | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Age at disease onset >50 years | Development of symptoms or findings beginning at age 50 or older |
| 2 | New headache | New onset of or new type of localised pain in the head |
| 3 | Temporal artery abnormality | Temporal artery tenderness to palpation or decreased pulsation, unrelated to arteriosclerosis of cervical arteries |
| 4 | Elevated ESR | >50 mm in the first hour by the Westergren method |
| 5 | Abnormal artery biopsy | Biopsy specimen with artery showing vasculitis characterised by a predominance of mononuclear cell infiltration or granulomatous inflammation, usually with multinucleated giant cells |