ACR Meeting Abstracts

ACR Meeting Abstracts

Abstract Number: 1942

Analysis of Vasculitis Patterns in Patients with Giant Cell Arteritis Compared to Patients with Giant Cell Arteritis and Polymyalgia Rheumatica

Lara Burg1, Peter Brossart2, Charlotte Behning3 and Valentin Schaefer4, 1Clinic for Internal Medicine III, Department of Oncology, Haematology, Rheumatology and Clinical Immunology, University Hospital Bonn, Germany, Bonn, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany, 2Clinic for Internal Medicine III, Department of Oncology, Hematology and Rheumatology, University Hospital Bonn, Germany, Bonn, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany, 3Institute for Medical Biometry, Informatics and Epidemiology, University Hospital Bonn, Germany, Bonn, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany, 4Clinic of Internal Medicine III, Department of Oncology, Hematology and Rheumatology, University Hospital Bonn, Germany, Bonn, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany

Meeting: ACR Convergence 2020

Keywords: ,

Session Information

Date: Monday, November 9, 2020

Title: Vasculitis – Non-ANCA-Associated & Related Disorders Poster II

Session Type: Poster Session D

Session Time: 9:00AM-11:00AM

Background/Purpose: Giant cell arteritis (GCA) and polymyalgia rheumatica (PMR) often coexist.1 The role of modern ultrasound (US) in diagnosis of GCA as well as PMR is well known.2  

To date it is unknown, whether patients with GCA and PMR have different vasculitis patterns in US examination of the vessels commonly affected than patients with GCA only.  

Methods: Prospective analysis of newly diagnosed consecutive patients with GCA and PMR (GCA/PMR group) as well as GCA only (GCA group), who met ACR and ACR/EULAR criteria for GCA and PMR. US examination was performed of the arteries commonly affected in GCA, such as axillary arteries, vertebral arteries, superficial temporal arteries with both frontal and parietal branches and facial arteries.

Arteries were defined as pathological, if measured intima-media-thickness by US was above published cut-off values.3

Results: The GCA-PMR-group consisted of 27 patients, the GCA-group of 18 patients. In the GCA-PMR-group, a total of 206 arteries were affected, while in the GCA-group 131 arteries were affected.  

Mean age and gender distribution of the GCA-PMR-group was 74 years (SD± 9) with 10 (37%) females in the GCA-PMR-group, and 76 years (SD± 9) with 10 (55%) females in the GCA-group, respectively. Median values of C-reactive protein (CRP) were 57.2 (IQR 31.7-75.7) in the GCA-group and 48.3 (IQR 17.5- 79.9) in the GCA-PMR-group, respectively. CRP values did not differ significantly between the two groups (p= 0.3577). Mean number of affected arteries per patient was 7.63 in the GCA-PMR-group and 7.28 in the GCA-group. Altogether we did not detect a significant difference in vascular pattern between the two groups. Exact numbers, distribution and IMT-values for all measured arteries are depicted in table 1.

Conclusion: We did not observe a significant difference in vascular patterns between GCA and PMR patients and GCA only patients.

References

  1. Salvarani C, Cantini F, Hunder GG. Polymyalgia rheumatica and giant-cell arteritis. The Lancet 2008;372:234–45.
  2. Dejaco C, Ramiro S, Duftner C, et al. EULAR recommendations for the use of imaging in large vessel vasculitis in clinical practice. Ann Rheum Dis 2018;77:636–43.
  3. Schäfer VS, Juche A, Ramiro S, Krause A, Schmidt WA. Ultrasound cut-off values for intima-media thickness of temporal, facial and axillary arteries in giant cell arteritis. Rheumatology (Oxford) 2017;56:1479–83.

Table1: Prevalence of vasculitis in patients with giant cell arteritis and polymyalgia rheumatica and patients with giant cell arteritis only.

Disclosure: L. Burg, None; P. Brossart, None; C. Behning, None; V. Schaefer, None.

To cite this abstract in AMA style:

Burg L, Brossart P, Behning C, Schaefer V. Analysis of Vasculitis Patterns in Patients with Giant Cell Arteritis Compared to Patients with Giant Cell Arteritis and Polymyalgia Rheumatica [abstract]. Arthritis Rheumatol. 2020; 72 (suppl 10). https://acrabstracts.org/abstract/analysis-of-vasculitis-patterns-in-patients-with-giant-cell-arteritis-compared-to-patients-with-giant-cell-arteritis-and-polymyalgia-rheumatica/. Accessed .

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