title: The risk of deep venous thrombosis and pulmonary embolism in giant cell arteritis: a general population-based study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Patients with giant cell arteritis (GCA) may have an increased risk of pulmonary embolism (PE), similar to other systemic vasculitidies; however, no relevant population data are available to date.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the future risk and time trends of new venous thromboembolism (VTE) in individuals with incident GCA at the general population level.
  
  
  METHODS
  Observational cohort study.
  
  
  METHODS
  General population of British Columbia.
  
  
  METHODS
  909 patients with incident GCA and 9288 age-matched, sex-matched and entry-time-matched control patients without a history of VTE.
  
  
  METHODS
  We calculated incidence rate ratios (IRR) overall, and stratified by GCA duration. We calculated HR of PE and deep vein thrombosis (DVT), adjusting for potential VTE risk factors.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Among 909 individuals with GCA (mean age 76 years, 73% women), 18 developed PE and 20 developed DVT. Incidence rates (IR) of VTE, PE and DVT were 13.3, 7.7 and 8.5 per 1000 person-years (PY) in GCA cohort, versus 3.7, 1.9 and 2.2 per 1000 PY in the comparison cohort. The corresponding IRRs (95% CI) for VTE, PE and DVT were 3.58 (2.33 to 5.34), 3.98 (2.22 to 6.81) and 3.82 (2.21 to 6.34) with the highest IRR observed in the first year of GCA diagnosis (7.03, 7.23 and 7.85, respectively). Corresponding fully adjusted HRs (95% CI) were 2.49 (1.45 to 4.30), 2.71 (1.32 to 5.56) and 2.78 (1.39 to 5.54).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These findings provide general population-based evidence that patients with GCA have an increased risk of VTE, calling for increased vigilance in preventing this serious, but preventable complication, especially within months after GCA diagnosis.
authors.affiliation: Arthritis Research Centre of Canada, Richmond, British Columbia, Canada Division of Rheumatology, Department of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
authors.forename: J Antonio
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Aviña-Zubieta
authors.affiliation: Arthritis Research Centre of Canada, Richmond, British Columbia, Canada.
authors.forename: Vidula M
authors.initials: VM
authors.lastname: Bhole
authors.affiliation: Division of Rheumatology, Department of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
authors.forename: Neda
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Amiri
authors.affiliation: Arthritis Research Centre of Canada, Richmond, British Columbia, Canada.
authors.forename: Eric C
authors.initials: EC
authors.lastname: Sayre
authors.affiliation: Arthritis Research Centre of Canada, Richmond, British Columbia, Canada Department of Rheumatology, Division of Rheumatology, Allergy and Immunology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, USA.
authors.forename: Hyon K
authors.initials: HK
authors.lastname: Choi
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D001955:British Columbia / Q000453:epidemiology; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D013700:Giant Cell Arteritis / Q000150:complications* / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D011655:Pulmonary Embolism / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology*; D018570:Risk Assessment / Q000379:methods; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D020246:Venous Thrombosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology*
keywords: Cardiovascular Disease; Giant Cell Arteritis; Systemic vasculitis