Long-term complications, monitoring and interventional treatment of large vessel vasculitis

Abstract

Giant cell arteritis (GCA) and Takayasu's arteritis (TAK) both belong to the group of large vessel vasculitides and require long-term drug treatment. Glucocorticoids (GC) are the first choice for the treatment of both diseases. For GCA immunosuppressants, such as tocilizumab or methotrexate should be considered in cases of treatment refractory and relapses or if there is ahigh risk for GC-related adverse events. In TAK patients the use of immunosuppressive agents should be considered for all patients. In the course of the disease, severe disease-associated and treatment-associated complications can occur. The most frequent disease-associated complications include visual impairment up to blindness in GCA, as well as vascular stenoses with ischemia and aortic aneurysms with possible dissection in GCA and TAK. Percutaneous transluminal angioplasty (PTA) and stenting are minimally invasive, low-risk interventional procedures for GCA and TAK patients with clinically significant vascular stenoses, despite a tendency to restenosis. Interventional procedures should be weighed up against vascular surgical approaches depending on the localization and the total clinical situation. All interventions should be conducted in aphase of stable remission when possible. For monitoring of disease activity in patients with GCA and TAK, assessment of clinical manifestations as well as C‑reactive protein (CRP) and the erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) are useful; however, both are unreliable under interleukin‑6 block with tocilizumab. The value of new biomarkers independent from interleukin‑6 and the importance of imaging (sonography, magnetic resonance angiography, computed tomography and positron emission tomography-CT) for monitoring GCA and TAK still have to be investigated in future studies.