Vasculitis and Giant Cell Arteritis News

The mortality risk for a 35-year-old patient with a rare autoimmune rheumatic disease during the COVID-19 pandemic is similar to that of a 55-year-old in the general population, according to UK data published in Rheumatology.

Patients with systemic autoimmune rheumatic diseases who contract COVID-19 may have a higher risk for end-organ failure than those without such diseases, according to a speaker at ACR Convergence 2020.

The risk for cardiovascular disease persists for 10 years after initial hospitalization among children with Kawasaki disease, according to data presented at the ACR Convergence 2020 virtual meeting.

Treatment with avacopan can reduce glucocorticoid use, improve disease control, and recover renal function among patients with ANCA-associated vasculitis, according to a speaker at ACR Convergence.

Patients with systemic lupus erythematosus, especially those who are positive for anti-Sm antibodies, are at greater risk for adverse events associated with trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, according to data presented at the ACR Convergence 2020 virtual meeting.

Recent landmark study results have shown that interleukin-6 blockade may be superior to prolonged prednisone therapy in giant cell arteritis, according to a presenter at the 2020 Congress of Clinical Rheumatology-West.

Although no single sign or symptom alone is strong enough to confirm a diagnosis of giant cell arteritis, a collection of features, including limb claudication and temporal artery thickening, are most informative, according to findings published in JAMA Internal Medicine.

The FDA has accepted a new drug application from ChemoCentryx Inc. for its orally administered small-molecule drug avacopan for the treatment of ANCA-associated vasculitis, according to a company press release.

Although many rheumatologists view Takayasu’s arteritis as “basically the same disease” as giant cell arteritis, tocilizumab is more effective in the latter than the former, according to a presenter at the 2020 Congress of Clinical Rheumatology-East.

The risk for hospital-diagnosed COVID-19 among patients with autoimmune or immune-mediated disease may depend on age, specific disease and prior therapy, according to data published in the Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases.