Clinical characteristics and outcomes of Takayasu's arteritis: analysis of 108 patients using standardized criteria for diagnosis, activity assessment, and angiographic classification.
OBJECTIVE
To investigate the clinical characteristics and outcomes of Takayasu's arteritis (TA) using standardized criteria for diagnosis, disease activity, and angiographic classification, and to identify the predictive factors for remission, angiographic progression, and mortality in patients with TA.


METHODS
One hundred and eight patients who fulfilled the 1990 American College of Rheumatology (ACR) classification criteria for TA were studied. Their clinical features, laboratory findings, angiographic findings, and clinical outcomes were evaluated retrospectively. The disease activities were assessed using the National Institutes of Health (NIH) criteria for active disease, and the angiographic types were classified using the International TA Conference in Tokyo 1994 angiographic classification.


RESULTS
Angiographic classification showed that type I was the most common, followed by types V and IV. Ninety-one patients had active disease at diagnosis, and remission was achieved in 81.3% of them. Among those who experienced remission and those who had stable disease at diagnosis, 28.6% experienced a relapse. A low erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) at diagnosis and treatment with glucocorticoid were found to be independent predictors for remission, and the stable disease activity at diagnosis was an independent predictor for the quiescence of vascular lesions on follow-up angiography. Survival rates were 92.9% at the fifth year and 87.2% at the tenth year, and the presence of two or more complications was a risk factor for mortality.


CONCLUSIONS
These findings could provide useful information on the clinical features, angiographic findings, and outcomes in TA, particularly on the assessment of patients at risk of a poor outcome.
Park
M-C
MC
Division of Rheumatology, Department of Internal Medicine, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
Lee
S-W
SW
Park
Y-B
YB
Chung
N S
NS
Lee
S-K
SK
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000792:Angiography / Q000379:methods*; D001799:Blood Sedimentation; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D015331:Cohort Studies; D018450:Disease Progression; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D004334:Drug Administration Schedule; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D005938:Glucocorticoids / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006801:Humans; D007166:Immunosuppressive Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D007723:Korea; D008297:Male; D008727:Methotrexate / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D008875:Middle Aged; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D015996:Survival Rate; D013625:Takayasu Arteritis / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000401:mortality; D016896:Treatment Outcome
D005938:Glucocorticoids; D007166:Immunosuppressive Agents; D008727:Methotrexate