Clinical and laboratory features of patients with and without visual manifestations in a cohort of 204 patients with giant cell arteritis (GCA). Values are n (%) or mean ± SD, except where indicated.
| Characteristics | Patients With Visual Manifestations, n = 47 | Patients Without Visual Manifestations, n = 157 | p |
|---|---|---|---|
| Demographics | |||
| Age, years | 77.4 ± 9.2 | 75.6 ± 7.8 | 0.16 |
| Sex, females | 36 (77) | 127 (81) | 0.52 |
| Ever smoker | 17 (42) | 67 (46) | 0.62 |
| Clinical features | |||
| Fever > 100°F | 6 (13) | 33 (22) | 0.20 |
| Duration of symptoms, days, median (IQR) | 26 (7.8–44) | 24 (10–53) | 0.40 |
| Significant weight loss* | 6 (13) | 38 (24) | 0.09 |
| Fatigue | 9 (19) | 51 (33) | 0.07 |
| Headache | 29 (62) | 115 (74) | 0.10 |
| Jaw claudication | 26 (55) | 59 (38) | 0.036 |
| Scalp tenderness | 15 (33) | 62 (42) | 0.29 |
| Associated polymyalgia rheumatica | 10 (21) | 40 (26) | 0.53 |
| Neurologic symptoms | 3 (6) | 2 (1) | 0.050 |
| Temporal tenderness on examination | 10 (28) | 42 (31) | 0.68 |
| Carotid/subclavian bruit on examination | 1 (2) | 6 (4) | 0.54 |
| CAD before GCA diagnosis | 13 (28) | 28 (18) | 0.14 |
| Aspirin use before GCA diagnosis | 10 (24) | 5 (16) | 0.22 |
| Corticosteroid use | |||
| Start dose CS, initial, mg | 59.6 ± 20 | 52 ± 14 | 0.030 |
| Cumulative CS dose on day 1, mg | 97.7 ± 275 | 58.3 ± 145 | 0.002 |
| Cumulative CS within 1st week, mg | 466.3 ± 534 | 398 ± 437 | 0.010 |
| Time to initiation of steroids (relative to GCA diagnosis), days | −2.0 ± 2.7 | 2.6 ± 44 | 0.010 |
| Laboratory features | |||
| Hemoglobin, g/dl | 11.9 ± 1.3 | 11.7 ± 1.4 | 0.16 |
| ESR, mm/h | 77 ± 28 | 80 ± 31 | 0.45 |
| White blood cell count, × 103/μl | 5.4 ± 3.6 | 5.9 ± 4.4 | 0.63 |
| Hyperlipidemia before GCA diagnosis | 18 (38) | 91 (58) | 0.018 |
P values < 0.05 shown in bold.
↵* Defined as > 10% body weight in 6 months. IQR: interquartile range; CAD: coronary artery disease; CS: corticosteroids; ESR: erythrocyte sedimentation rate.