| Title | Claps | Level | Year | L/Y |
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Tocilizumab in patients with Takayasu arteritis: a retrospective study and literature review.
16 auth. J. Loricera, R. Blanco, J. Hernández, S. Castañeda, A. Humbría, N. Ortego, B. Bravo, M. Freire, S. Melchor, M. Mínguez, ...
OBJECTIVES
To assess the efficacy of tocilizumab (TCZ) in patients with Takayasu arteritis (TA).
METHODS
Multicentre open-label retrospective study.
RESULTS
Eight patients (all women) with a mean age of 34±16 years, median 36 years (range: 7-57)…
OBJECTIVES
To assess the efficacy of tocilizumab (TCZ) in patients with Takayasu arteritis (TA).
METHODS
Multicentre open-label retrospective study.
RESULTS
Eight patients (all women) with a mean age of 34±16 years, median 36 years (range: 7-57) were assessed. The main clinical features at TCZ therapy onset were: constitutional symptoms (n=4), fever (n=3), headache (n=2), chest pain (n=1), abdominal pain (n=1), mesenteric ischaemia (n=1), myalgia involving the lower limbs (n=1), cerebral vascular insufficiency (n=1), malaise (n=1), upper limb claudication (n=1) and nodular scleritis (n=1). Besides corticosteroids and before TCZ treatment onset, 7 of 8 patients had also received several conventional immunosuppressive and/or biologic agents. Seven patients experienced marked clinical improvement in the first 3 months after the onset of TCZ therapy. After a median follow-up of 15.5 [interquartile range-IQR: 12-24] months, 7 patients were asymptomatic. The median C-reactive protein decreased from 3.09 [IQR: 0.5-12] to 0.15 [IQR: 0.1-0.5] mg/dL (p=0.018), and median erythrocyte sedimentation rate from 40 [IQ range: 28-72] to 3 [IQR: 2-5] mm/1st hour (p=0.012). The median dose of prednisone was also tapered from 42.5 [IQR: 25-50] to 2.5 [IQR: 0-7.5] mg/day (p=0.011). However, TCZ had to be discontinued in 1 patient because she developed a systemic lupus erythematosus, and in another patient due to inefficiency. TCZ dose was reduced in a patient because of mild thrombocytopenia.
CONCLUSIONS
TCZ appears to be effective in the management of patients with TA, in particular in patients refractory to corticosteroids and/or conventional immunosuppressive drugs.
Published in
Clinical and Experimental Rheumatology
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31
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5 | 2016 |
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