TABLE 1.
Comparison between patients with (included in this post hoc analysis) and without (excluded) repeat PET scan during follow-up.
| Characteristics | Total (n = 106) | Included in post hoc analysis (n = 52) | Excluded from post hoc analysis (n = 54) |
| Age at inclusion, years, mean (SD) | 70 (8) | 70 (8) | 70 (8) |
| Sex, no. of females, n (%) | 70 (66%) | 33 (63%) | 37 (69%) |
| Symptom duration until diagnosis, week, median (IQR) | 6 (3–14)11 | 7 (4–17)7 | 4 (2–9)4 |
| Cardiovascular risk factors/events at diagnosis | |||
 Active or past tobacco use, n (%) |
48 (48%)7 | 26 (51%)1 | 22 (46%)6 |
|
Antihypertensive medication, n (%) |
51 (48%) | 24 (46%) | 27 (50%) |
|
Statin use, n (%) |
33 (31%) | 12 (23%) | 21 (39%) |
|
Diabetes mellitus, n (%) |
5 (5%) | 1 (2%) | 4 (7%) |
|
History of stroke, n (%) |
5 (5%) | 2 (4%) | 3 (6%) |
|
History of myocardial infarction or angina, n (%) |
2 (2%) | 0 (0%) | 2 (4%) |
|
History of peripheral vascular, disease, n (%) |
2 (2%) | 1 (2%) | 1 (2%) |
|
Betablocker at diagnosis, n (%) |
39 (37%) | 16 (31%) | 23 (43%) |
|
Betablocker during follow-up, n (%) |
54 (51%) | 25 (48%) | 29 (54%) |
| AORTA score, median (IQR) | 3.09 (2.97–3.22) | 3.05 (2.94–3.21) | 3.10 (2.98–3.22) |
| Symptoms at diagnosis | |||
|
Cranial symptoms, n (%) |
80 (75%) | 39 (75%) | 41 (76%) |
|
PMR, n (%) |
39 (37%) | 19 (37%) | 20 (37%) |
|
Constitutional symptoms, n (%) |
93 (88%) | 45 (87%) | 48 (89%) |
|
Limb claudication, n (%) |
4 (4%) | 3 (6%) | 1 (2%) |
| Laboratory tests at diagnosis | |||
|
ESR, mm/h, median (IQR) |
68 (48–105)16 | 93 (57–110)3 | 57 (45–70)13 |
|
CRP, mg/l, median (IQR) |
89 (48–135) | 105 (46–157) | 81 (48–129) |
| Positive temporal artery biopsy at diagnosis, n (%) | 54 (64%)22 | 25 (60%)10 | 29 (69%)12 |
| PET results at diagnosis | |||
|
Positive PET, n (%) |
75 (71%) | 37 (71%) | 38 (70%) |
|
Positive PET in thoracic aorta, n (%) |
61 (58%) | 32 (62%) | 29 (54%) |
|
TVS, median (IQR) |
7 (1–14) | 8 (1–16) | 6 (2–14) |
|
Number of vessels with FDG uptake ≥grade 2, median (IQR) |
3 (0–5) | 3 (0–5) | 2 (0–5) |
|
Intensity of FDG uptake in affected vessels, median (IQR)° |
2.8 (0.0–3.0) | 2.8 (0.0–3.0) | 2.7 (0.0–3.0) |
| Treatment | |||
|
Duration of GC treatment, months, median (IQR) |
33 (21–64)3 | 60 (33–96)2 | 24 (17–34) |
|
Cumulative GC dose in first 2 years after diagnosis, g methylprednisolone, mean (SD) |
4.5 (3.7–5.4)6 | 5.3 (3.9–6.4)4 | 4.1 (3.6–4.8)2 |
|
Use of glucocorticoid-sparing agents during follow-up, n (%) |
32 (31%)2 | 23 (46%)2 | 9 (17%) |
|
Duration of follow-up, months, median (IQR) |
78 (40–110) | 94 (64–120) | 55 (29–95) |
|
Relapse, n (%) |
69 (65%) | 48 (92%) | 21 (39%) |
| Cardiovascular event during follow-up | |||
|
Aortic dissection, n (%) |
0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) |
|
Vascular stenosis, n (%) |
14 (13%) | 10 (19%) | 4 (7%) |
|
Vascular surgery, n (%) |
7 (7%) | 6 (12%) | 1 (2%) |
|
Myocardial infarction, n (%) |
3 (3%) | 2 (4%) | 1 (2%) |
|
Stroke, n (%) |
11 (10%) | 6 (12%) | 5 (9%) |
|
AION, n (%) |
2 (2%) | 1 (2%) | 1 (2%) |
| Mortality, n (%) | 15 (14%) | 7 (13%) | 8 (15%) |
AION, anterior ischemic optic neuropathy; CRP, C-reactive protein; ESR, erythrocyte sedimentation rate; FDG, fluorodeoxyglucose; GC, glucocorticoids; IQR, interquartile range; no., number; PET, positron emission tomography; PMR, polymyalgia rheumatica; SD, standard deviation; TVS, total vascular score. Number of missing values are reported in superscript. °Calculated as total vascular score divided by the number of vessels with FDG uptake ≥grade 2.