Table 4.
Potential predictors at time of diagnosisa for positive temporal artery biopsy in patients with GCA
| Feature | Odds ratio | 95 % CI | p |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sex (female vs male) | 2.01 | 0.97–4.20 | 0.06 |
| Age (per year) | 1.00 | 0.96–1.04 | 0.94 |
| Time from glucocorticoid treatment to TAB (per day) | 1.02 | 0.95–1.09 | 0.65 |
| Current smoking vs non-current smokingb | 0.74 | 0.35–1.56 | 0.43 |
| Ever smoking vs never smokingb | 0.90 | 0.36–2.28 | 0.83 |
| ESR (per mm/h) | 1.02 | 1.00–1.03 | 0.04 |
| CRP (per mg/l) | 1.01 | 1.00-1.02 | 0.01 |
| Time from glucocorticoid treatment to TAB | |||
| < 1 dayc | 2.86 | 1.06–7.70 | 0.04 |
| 1–3 days | 1.00 (reference) | ||
| 4–6 days | 1.70 | 0.70–4.13 | 0.24 |
| 7–28 days | 1.80 | 0.54–6.00 | 0.34 |
| ESR (mm/h) * b | |||
| Quartile 1 (20–61) | 1.00 (reference) | ||
| Quartile 2 (62–79) | 0.45 | 0.17-1.20 | 0.11 |
| Quartile 3 (80–99) | 1.14 | 0.43-3.01 | 0.80 |
| Quartile 4 (100–150) | 4.27 | 1.09-16.82 | 0.04 |
| CRP (mg/l) ** b | |||
| Quartile 1 (4–56) | 1.00 (reference) | ||
| Quartile 2 (57–98) | 2.89 | 0.94-8.86 | 0.06 |
| Quartile 3 (99–142) | 4.64 | 1.33-16.23 | 0.02 |
| Quartile 4 (143–478) | 2.39 | 0.81-7.04 | 0.12 |
TAB temporal artery biopsy, ESR erythrocyte sedimentation rate, CRP C-reactive protein, CI confidence interval
* p for trend 0.01
** p for trend 0.07
aDefined as the day when a tentative clinical diagnosis was made and glucocorticoid treatment was started
bAvailable data: ESR from 171 patients; CRP 136 patients; current smoking at diagnosis 98 patients; ever smoking 135 patients.
cIncludes individuals biopsied before start of glucocorticoid treatment