Giant cell arteritis: a multicenter observational study in Brazil
Clinics
; 68(3): 317-322, 2013. tab
Article
in English
| LILACS
| ID: lil-671421
Responsible library:
BR1.1
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE:
To describe demographic features, disease manifestations and therapy in patients with giant cell arteritis from referral centers in Brazil.METHODS:
A retrospective cohort study was performed on 45 giant cell arteritis patients from three university hospitals in Brazil. Diagnoses were based on the American College of Rheumatology classification criteria for giant cell arteritis or temporal artery biopsy findings.RESULTS:
Most patients were Caucasian, and females were slightly more predominant. The frequencies of disease manifestations were as follows temporal headache in 82.2%, neuro-ophthalmologic manifestations in 68.9%, jaw claudication in 48.9%, systemic symptoms in 44.4%, polymyalgia rheumatica in 35.6% and extra-cranial vessel involvement in 17.8% of cases. Aortic aneurysms were observed in 6.6% of patients. A comparison between patients with biopsy-proven giant cell arteritis and those without temporal artery biopsies did not yield significant differences in disease manifestations. All patients were treated with oral prednisone, and intravenous methylprednisolone was administered to nearly half of the patients. Methotrexate was the most commonly used immunosuppressive agent, and low-dose aspirin was prescribed to the majority of patients. Relapses occurred in 28.9% of patients, and aspirin had a protective effect against relapses. Females had higher prevalences of polymyalgia rheumatica, systemic manifestations and jaw claudication, while permanent visual loss was more prevalent in men.CONCLUSIONS:
Most of the clinical features of Brazilian giant cell arteritis patients were similar to those found in other studies, except for the high prevalence of neuro-ophthalmic manifestations and permanent blindness in the Brazilian patients. Aspirin had a protective effect on relapses.
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
LILACS
Main subject:
Temporal Arteries
/
Giant Cell Arteritis
Type of study:
Etiology study
/
Observational study
Limits:
Aged
/
Aged, 80 and over
/
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
Country/Region as subject:
South America
/
Brazil
Language:
English
Journal:
Clinics
Journal subject:
Medicine
Year:
2013
Document type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Brazil
Institution/Affiliation country:
Universidade Federal de São Paulo/BR