Table 1.
Characteristics of patients with and without vertebral artery (VA) involvement.
| All GCA patients with VA involvement | TCZ treated patients | Patients without TCZ | Patients without VA involvement | p values comparing patients with and without VA involvement | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ∑ | 29 (100%) | 5 (17.2%) | 24 (82.8%) | 48 (100%) | – | |
| Biometric characteristics | ||||||
| Age (years)** | 75.1 (12) | 71.5 (7.9) | 75.8 (13.9) | 76.5 (11) | 0.15 | |
| Female/male | 16 (55.2%)/13 (44.8%) | 0 (0%)/5 (100%) | 16 (66.7%)/8 (33.3%) | 38 (79.2%)/10 (20.8%) | 0.026b; χ2 = 4.968 | |
| Observational time (d)** | 323 (313.5) | 381 (710) | 248 (349.8) | –a | – | |
| Death within 1st year | Overall | 3 (10.3%) | 1 (20%) | 2 (8.3%) | –a | – |
| Due to GCA | 2 (6.9%) | 1 (20%) | 1 (4.2%) | –a | – | |
| CV risk factors | ||||||
| History of smoking | 5 (17.2%); [13/29 n/a] | 2 (40%); [1 n/a] | 3 (12.5%); [12 n/a] | 5 (10.4%); [38 n/a] | 0.388 | |
| Arterial hypertension | 22 (75.9%) | 3 (60%) | 19 (79.2%) | 28 (58.3%) | 0.118 | |
| Diabetes mellitus | 5 (17.2%) | 1 (20%) | 4 (16.7%) | 9 (18.8%) | 0.868 | |
| Hypercholesterolemia | 10 (34.5%) | 2 (40%) | 8 (33.3%) | 15 (31.3%) | 0.769 | |
| Malignoma | 3 (10.3%) | 1 (20%) | 2 (8.3%) | 2 (4.2%) | 0.286 | |
| Laboratory data at GCA diagnosis | ||||||
| CRP (mg/dL)** | 6.4 (5.8) | 4.8 (5.3) | 7.0 (6.4) | 6.4 (12.2) | 0.484 | |
| ESR (mm/h)** | 46 (39) | 41 (31.5) | 48 (41) | 62 (26.8) | 0.012 b | |
| Temporal artery biopsy | ||||||
| Under GCs treatment | IV GCs | 10 (34.5%) | 2 (40%) | 8 (33.3%) | 11 (22.9%) | 0.27 |
| Oral GCs | 13 (44.8%) | 3 (60%) | 10 (41.7%) | 23 (47.9%) | 0.792 | |
| Without GCS treatment | 1 (3.4%) | 0 (0%) | 1 (4.2%) | 0 (0%) | 0.195 | |
| No biopsy | 5 (17.2%) | 0 (0%) | 5 (20.8%) | 14 (29.2%) | 0.24 | |
| Inflammatory infiltrate and/or giant cells | 18 (75%)* | 3 (60%)* | 15 (78.9%)* | 25 (73.5%)* | 0.393 | |
| Diagnostic imaging at GCA diagnosis | ||||||
| CDUS | Performed | 28 (96.6%) | 4 (80%) | 24 (100%) | 47 (97.9%) | 0.715 |
| VA stenosis | 17 (60.7)* | 3 (75%)* | 14 (58.3%)* | 0 (0%)* | – | |
| MR-A | Performed | 16 (55.2%) | 2 (40%) | 14 (58.3%) | 7 (14.6%) | 0.00 b |
| VA stenosis | 7 (43.8%)* | 2 (100%)* | 5 (35.7%)* | 0 (0%)* | – | |
| CT-A | Performed | 16 (55.2%) | 2 (40%) | 14 (58.3%) | 6 (12.5%) | 0.00 b |
| VA stenosis | 5 (31.3%)* | 2 (100%)* | 3 (21.4%)* | 0 (0%)* | – | |
| FDG-PET | Performed | 14 (48.3%) | 5 (100%) | 9 (37.5%) | 4 (8.3%) | 0.00 b |
| VA enhancement | 7 (50%)* | 5 (100%)* | 2 (22.2%)* | 0 (0%)* | – | |
| Cerebral ischemia at GCA diagnosis | ||||||
| Vertebrobasilar transient ischemic attack | 16 (55.2%) | 2 (40%) | 14 (58.3%) | 0 (0%) | – | |
| Stroke on CT/MRI | CT and/or MRI performed | 26 (89.7%) | 3 (60%) | 23 (95.8%) | 31 (64.6%) | 0.015 b |
| Anterior circulation stroke | 0 (0%)* | 0 (0%)* | 0 (0%)* | 1 (3.2%)* | 0.434 | |
| Vertebrobasilar stroke | 11 (42.3%)* | 3 (100%)* | 8 (34.8%)* | 0 (0%)* | – | |
| Treatment at GCA diagnosis | ||||||
| High-dose IV GCs | 27 (93.1%) | 5 (100%) | 22 (91.7%) | 40 (83.3%) | 0.217 | |
| TCZ | 4 (13.8%) | 4 (80%) | 0 (0%) | 0 (0%) | 0.008 b | |
| MTX | 5 (17.2%) | 0 (0%) | 5 (20.8%) | 1 (2.1%) | 0.016 b | |
| RTX | 1 (3.4%) | 1 (20%) | 0 (0%) | 0 (0%) | 0.195 | |
* refers to group of patients for whom respective examination (biopsy or imaging) was performed. Continuous data (**) are represented as median (interquartile range), categorial data are represented as absolute values (%). Missing information is indicated in square brackets as not available [n/a]. GCA, giant cell arteritis; VA, vertebral artery; CV, cardiovascular; n/a, not available; CRP, c-reactive protein; ESR, erythrocyte sedimentation rate; GCs, glucocorticosteroids; IV, intravenous; CDUS, colour Doppler ultrasound; MR–A, magnetic resonance angiography; CT-A, computed tomography angiography; FDG-PET, 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography; TCZ, tocilizumab; MTX, methotrexate; RTX, rituximab.
Information on observational time and death not presented as only baseline data are displayed.
Significant differences between group with and without VA involvement.The bold values highlight the significantly different values between the groups with and without VA involvement.