Table 2.
Treatment and outcomes of patients with giant-cell arteritis over 80 years old who received tocilizumab
| Characteristics | Patients (n = 21) |
|---|---|
| Total follow-up, in months | 20 [3–48] |
| Antiplatelets | 18 (86) |
| Glucocorticoid use | |
| Initial dose, mg/kg | 0.8 [0.6–1.1] |
| Duration of intake in all patientsa, in months | 14 [2–48] |
| Number of patients who stopped GCs after TCZ introduction | 14 (67) |
| Delay to stop GCs after TCZ introduction | 8 [2–21] |
| Tocilizumab use | |
| Introduction at GCA diagnosis | 6 (29) |
| Introduction during the FU | 15 (71) |
| Delay of introduction in patients with TCZ introduction at FU | 8 [3–37] |
| First-line immunosuppressant | 17 (81) |
| Second-line immunosuppressant | 4 (19) |
| Number of patients who discontinued TCZ at last FU | 11 (52) |
| Duration of TCZ use in all patients, in months | 7 [3–28] |
| Duration of TCZ in patients who stopped it, in months | 8 [3–28] |
| Number of patients with a control of large-vessel imaging | 3 |
| Improvement | 2 |
| No improvement | 1 |
| Relapses before and after TCZ introduction | |
| Number of patients who relapsed | 11 (52) |
| Total number of relapses | 19 |
| Delay of the first relapse, in months | 5 [2–19] |
| Number of relapses before TCZ | 15 |
| Under TCZ | 2 |
| After TCZ discontinuation | 2 |
| Delay of relapse after TCZ discontinuation, in months | 1 and 13 |
| Death | 4 (19) |
Values are numbers (%) or medians [range]. GCs, glucocorticoids; FU, follow-up; TCZ, tocilizumab
aFrom GC introduction to stop or to the last follow-up visit if GCs are ongoing