Table 3.
Characteristics of GCA relapses occurring on and off tocilizumab treatment
| On TCZ (N=65) |
Off TCZ (N=65) |
|
| No of relapses | 22 | 26 |
| Symptoms | ||
| Symptoms of PMR | 9 (40.9) | 20 (76.9) |
| Cranial symptoms* | 13 (59.1) | 8 (30.8) |
| Visual symptoms† | 1 (4.5) | 1 (3.8) |
| Permanent vision loss | 1 (4.5) | 0 |
| On prednisone | 12 (54.5) | 2 (7.7) |
| Off prednisone | 10 (45.5) | 24 (92.3) |
| Prednisone dose at time of relapse, mg/day | ||
| Mean (SD) | 6.2 (9.8) | 0.5 (1.8) |
| ESR at time of relapse, mm/hour‡, § | ||
| Mean (SD) | 16.6 (21.5) | 31.4 (25.4) |
| ≥30 mm/hour | 4 (18.2) | 11 (42.3) |
| CRP at time of relapse, mg/L¶,** | ||
| Mean (SD) | 5.2 (10.6) | 13.3 (22.1) |
| ≥10 mg/L | 2 (9.1) | 7 (26.9) |
All values represent number (%) unless otherwise specified. The denominator for all values is the total number of relapses in each group.
*Cranial symptoms include the following: headache, jaw claudication and scalp tenderness, amaurosis fugax, blurred vision, diplopia and/or permanent vision loss.
†Visual symptoms include the following: amaurosis fugax, blurred vision, diplopia and/or permanent vision loss.
‡ESR not available in six relapses on TCZ.
§ESR not available in three relapses off TCZ.
¶CRP not available in seven relapses on TCZ.
**CRP not available in nine relapses off TCZ.
CRP, C reactive protein; ESR, erythrocyte sedimentation rate; GCA, giant cell arteritis; PMR, polymyalgia rheumatica; TCZ, tocilizumab.