Abstract
Purpose :
Giant cell arteritis (GCA) is a vasculitis associated with significant ocular and systemic morbidity. The possibility of seasonality of GCA, and the role of diabetes in this population are amongst recent topics of interest. Our purpose was to evaluate epidemiologic characteristics of giant cell arteritis using a national inpatient database.
Methods :
The Nationwide Inpatient Sample database from 2002-2010 was utilized to analyze epidemiological characteristics of patients with giant cell arteritis in the United States. Patient demographics, time/length of stay, hospital charges, incidence of temporal artery biopsy, and concomitant diagnoses were analyzed
Results :
5,337 cases of giant cell arteritis were identified (mean age 74.4±11 years; 74% female). The number of cases varied by year, reaching a peak in 2003 (n=633) and a trough in 2010 (n=512). The number of cases by month peaked in August (n=459), and troughed in November (n=331). Temporal artery biopsy was performed in a majority of cases (53% unilateral, 3% bilateral). Diabetic GCA patients (n=1547, 30%) were significantly younger, more likely to be of non-Caucasian ethnicity, and had a longer length of stay (p<0.0001). Inpatient mortality was 7%. The most common noted cranial nerve palsy was of the sixth nerve (0.5%). Retinal artery occlusion was noted in rare cases (2.5%).
Conclusions :
The Nationwide Inpatient Sample could be utilized to further understand the epidemiologic characteristics of giant cell arteritis.
This is an abstract that was submitted for the 2016 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Seattle, Wash., May 1-5, 2016.