TY - JOUR
T1 - Visual complications in patients with biopsy-proven giant cell arteritis
T2 - A population-based study
AU - Saleh, Muna
AU - Turesson, Carl
AU - Englund, Martin
AU - Merkel, Peter A.
AU - Mohammad, Aladdin J.
PY - 2016/8/1
Y1 - 2016/8/1
N2 - Objective. To study the clinical and laboratory characteristics of patients with biopsy-proven giant cell arteritis (GCA) with visual complications, and to evaluate the incidence rate of visual complications in GCA compared to the background population. Methods. Data from 840 patients with GCA in the county of Skane, Sweden, diagnosed between 1997 and 2010, were used for this analysis. Cases with visual complications were identified from a diagnosis registry and confirmed by a review of medical records. The rate of visual complications in patients with GCA was compared with an age-and sex-matched reference population. Results. There were 85 patients (10%) who developed ≥ 1 visual complication after the onset of GCA. Of the patients, 18 (21%) developed unilateral or bilateral complete visual loss. The mean age at diagnosis was 78 years (± 7.3); 69% were women. Compared with patients without visual complications, those with visual complication had lower C-reactive protein levels at diagnosis and were less likely to have headache, fever, and palpable abnormal temporal artery. The use of-adrenergic inhibitors was associated with visual complications. The incidence of visual complications among patients with GCA was 20.9/1000 person-years of followup compared to 6.9/1000 person-years in the reference population, resulting in a rate ratio of 3.0 (95% CI 2.3.3.8). Conclusion. Ten percent of patients with GCA developed visual complications, a rate substantially higher than that of the general population. Patients with GCA who had visual complications had lower inflammatory responses and were more likely to have been treated with 1β-adrenergic inhibitors compared with patients without visual complications.
AB - Objective. To study the clinical and laboratory characteristics of patients with biopsy-proven giant cell arteritis (GCA) with visual complications, and to evaluate the incidence rate of visual complications in GCA compared to the background population. Methods. Data from 840 patients with GCA in the county of Skane, Sweden, diagnosed between 1997 and 2010, were used for this analysis. Cases with visual complications were identified from a diagnosis registry and confirmed by a review of medical records. The rate of visual complications in patients with GCA was compared with an age-and sex-matched reference population. Results. There were 85 patients (10%) who developed ≥ 1 visual complication after the onset of GCA. Of the patients, 18 (21%) developed unilateral or bilateral complete visual loss. The mean age at diagnosis was 78 years (± 7.3); 69% were women. Compared with patients without visual complications, those with visual complication had lower C-reactive protein levels at diagnosis and were less likely to have headache, fever, and palpable abnormal temporal artery. The use of-adrenergic inhibitors was associated with visual complications. The incidence of visual complications among patients with GCA was 20.9/1000 person-years of followup compared to 6.9/1000 person-years in the reference population, resulting in a rate ratio of 3.0 (95% CI 2.3.3.8). Conclusion. Ten percent of patients with GCA developed visual complications, a rate substantially higher than that of the general population. Patients with GCA who had visual complications had lower inflammatory responses and were more likely to have been treated with 1β-adrenergic inhibitors compared with patients without visual complications.
KW - Giant cell arteritis
KW - Inflammation clinical characteristics
KW - Rate ratio
KW - Visual complications
KW - β-blockers
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84982863807&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.3899/jrheum.151033
DO - 10.3899/jrheum.151033
M3 - Article
C2 - 27252424
AN - SCOPUS:84982863807
SN - 0315-162X
VL - 43
SP - 1559
EP - 1565
JO - Journal of Rheumatology
JF - Journal of Rheumatology
IS - 8
ER -