Table 3.
Epidemiologic and clinical differences at time of disease diagnosis between patients with biopsy-proven GCA across differing relapse rates
| Characteristic | No relapse (n = 73) | <0.5 relapses/year (n = 130) | ≥0.5 relapses/year (n = 83) | P-value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| General characteristics | ||||
| Age, mean (s.d.), years | 75.7 (8.1) | 74.5 (7.3) | 75.2 (7.5) | 0.51 |
| Female, n (%) | 46 (63) | 102 (78.5) | 65 (78.3) | 0.034 |
| Symptom duration, median (IQR), months | 2.0 (0.9–4.2) | 2.1 (1.0–5.1) | 2.1 (0.8–4.2) | 0.82 |
| Cardiovascular risk factors, n (%) | ||||
| Hypertension | 25 (35.2) | 58 (45.3) | 50 (60.2) | 0.007 |
| Diabetes | 2 (2.8) | 11 (8.5) | 12 (14.5) | 0.039 |
| History of venous thrombosis | 1 (1.4) | 2 (1.6) | 6 (7.4) | 0.041 |
| Clinical symptoms, n (%) | ||||
| Headache | 45 (62.5) | 85 (66.4) | 57 (70.4) | 0.59 |
| Jaw claudication | 38 (52.1) | 64 (49.6) | 47 (56.6) | 0.61 |
| PMR | 32 (45.1) | 56 (43.4) | 37 (45.1) | 0.96 |
| Vision loss transient | 5 (6.8) | 11 (8.5) | 4 (4.8) | 0.59 |
| Vision loss permanent | 6 (8.3) | 7 (5.5) | 3 (3.6) | 0.44 |
| Leg claudication | 1 (1.4) | 4 (3.1) | 1 (1.2) | 0.56 |
| Systemic manifestations, n (%) | ||||
| Fever | 17 (23.9) | 23 (18.3) | 17 (20.5) | 0.64 |
| Weight loss >2 kg | 23 (31.5) | 36 (27.7) | 32 (39) | 0.23 |
| Fatigue | 39 (54.2) | 51 (39.2) | 39 (47) | 0.12 |
| Laboratory, median (IQR) | ||||
| ESR, mm/h | 60.0 (43.0–95.0) | 59.5 (37.5–87.5) | 75.0 (50.0–96.0) | 0.12 |
| CRP, mg/l | 61.0 (17.2–101.0) | 45.5 (20.7–87.1) | 62.6 (35.2–108.9) | 0.15 |
| Initial treatment | ||||
| Prednisone dosea, mean (s.d.), mg | 49.0 (15.4) | 50.9 (12.6) | 52.6 (11.7) | 0.35 |
| Aspirin, n (%) | 35 (48.6) | 61 (47.3) | 39 (47) | 0.98 |
| Statin, n (%) | 16 (22.5) | 34 (26.2) | 21 (25.3) | 0.85 |
aInitial oral prednisone dose with patients receiving pulse dose treatments excluded: no relapse (n = 69), <0.5 relapses/year (n = 116), ≥ 0.5 relapses/year (n = 79). IQR: interquartile range.