Management of giant-cell arteritis in Switzerland: an online national survey
AIMS OF THE STUDY: To assess current practices in diagnosing, treating, and following-up giant-cell arteritis by specialists in Switzerland and to identify the main barriers to using diagnostic tools. METHODS: We performed a national survey of specialists potentially caring for patients with gia...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
SMW supporting association (Trägerverein Swiss Medical Weekly SMW)
2023-04-01
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| Series: | Swiss Medical Weekly |
| Online Access: | https://smw.ch/index.php/smw/article/view/3311 |
| _version_ | 1826996094448435200 |
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| author | Michele Iudici Andrea Katharina Hemmig Mihaela Stegert Courvoisier Courvoisier Sabine Adler Mike Oliver Becker Christoph T. Berger Diana Dan Axel Finckh Alfred Mahr Thomas Neumann Stephan Reichenbach Camillo Ribi Luca Seitz Peter Villiger Lukas Wildi Thomas Daikeler on behalf of Giant Cell Arteritis SCQM Study Group |
| author_facet | Michele Iudici Andrea Katharina Hemmig Mihaela Stegert Courvoisier Courvoisier Sabine Adler Mike Oliver Becker Christoph T. Berger Diana Dan Axel Finckh Alfred Mahr Thomas Neumann Stephan Reichenbach Camillo Ribi Luca Seitz Peter Villiger Lukas Wildi Thomas Daikeler on behalf of Giant Cell Arteritis SCQM Study Group |
| author_sort | Michele Iudici |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description |
AIMS OF THE STUDY: To assess current practices in diagnosing, treating, and following-up giant-cell arteritis by specialists in Switzerland and to identify the main barriers to using diagnostic tools.
METHODS: We performed a national survey of specialists potentially caring for patients with giant-cell arteritis. The survey was sent by email to all members of the Swiss Societies of Rheumatology and for Allergy and Immunology. A reminder was sent to nonresponders after 4 and 12 weeks. Its questions covered the following dimensions: respondents’ main characteristics, diagnosis, treatment, and imaging’s role during follow-up. The main study results were summarized using descriptive statistics.
RESULTS: Ninety-one specialists, primarily aged 46–65 years (n = 53/89; 59%), working in academic or nonacademic hospitals or private practice, and treating a median of 7.5 (interquartile range [IQR]: 3–12) patients with giant-cell arteritis per year participated in this survey. Ultrasound of temporal arteries/large vessels (n = 75/90; 83%) and positron-emission-tomography-computed tomography (n = 52/91; 57%) or magnetic resonance imaging (n = 46/90; 51%) of the aorta/extracranial arteries were the most common techniques used to diagnose giant-cell arteritis with cranial or large vessel involvement, respectively. Most participants reported a short time to obtain imaging tests or arterial biopsy. The glucocorticoid tapering scheme, glucocorticoid-sparing agent, and glucocorticoid-sparing treatment duration varied among the participants. Most physicians did not follow a predefined repeat imaging scheme for follow-up and mainly relied on structural changes (vascular thickening, stenosis, or dilatation) to drive treatment choice.
CONCLUSIONS: This survey indicates that imaging and temporal biopsy are rapidly accessible for diagnosing giant-cell arteritis in Switzerland but highlights heterogeneous practice in many disease management areas.
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| first_indexed | 2024-04-09T19:43:21Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-85b37150678f45638d160ecdf4ef77da |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1424-3997 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2025-02-18T09:41:49Z |
| publishDate | 2023-04-01 |
| publisher | SMW supporting association (Trägerverein Swiss Medical Weekly SMW) |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Swiss Medical Weekly |
| spelling | doaj.art-85b37150678f45638d160ecdf4ef77da2024-11-02T16:02:12ZengSMW supporting association (Trägerverein Swiss Medical Weekly SMW)Swiss Medical Weekly1424-39972023-04-01153410.57187/smw.2023.40051Management of giant-cell arteritis in Switzerland: an online national surveyMichele IudiciAndrea Katharina HemmigMihaela StegertCourvoisier CourvoisierSabine AdlerMike Oliver BeckerChristoph T. BergerDiana DanAxel FinckhAlfred MahrThomas NeumannStephan ReichenbachCamillo RibiLuca SeitzPeter VilligerLukas WildiThomas Daikeleron behalf of Giant Cell Arteritis SCQM Study Group AIMS OF THE STUDY: To assess current practices in diagnosing, treating, and following-up giant-cell arteritis by specialists in Switzerland and to identify the main barriers to using diagnostic tools. METHODS: We performed a national survey of specialists potentially caring for patients with giant-cell arteritis. The survey was sent by email to all members of the Swiss Societies of Rheumatology and for Allergy and Immunology. A reminder was sent to nonresponders after 4 and 12 weeks. Its questions covered the following dimensions: respondents’ main characteristics, diagnosis, treatment, and imaging’s role during follow-up. The main study results were summarized using descriptive statistics. RESULTS: Ninety-one specialists, primarily aged 46–65 years (n = 53/89; 59%), working in academic or nonacademic hospitals or private practice, and treating a median of 7.5 (interquartile range [IQR]: 3–12) patients with giant-cell arteritis per year participated in this survey. Ultrasound of temporal arteries/large vessels (n = 75/90; 83%) and positron-emission-tomography-computed tomography (n = 52/91; 57%) or magnetic resonance imaging (n = 46/90; 51%) of the aorta/extracranial arteries were the most common techniques used to diagnose giant-cell arteritis with cranial or large vessel involvement, respectively. Most participants reported a short time to obtain imaging tests or arterial biopsy. The glucocorticoid tapering scheme, glucocorticoid-sparing agent, and glucocorticoid-sparing treatment duration varied among the participants. Most physicians did not follow a predefined repeat imaging scheme for follow-up and mainly relied on structural changes (vascular thickening, stenosis, or dilatation) to drive treatment choice. CONCLUSIONS: This survey indicates that imaging and temporal biopsy are rapidly accessible for diagnosing giant-cell arteritis in Switzerland but highlights heterogeneous practice in many disease management areas. https://smw.ch/index.php/smw/article/view/3311 |
| spellingShingle | Michele Iudici Andrea Katharina Hemmig Mihaela Stegert Courvoisier Courvoisier Sabine Adler Mike Oliver Becker Christoph T. Berger Diana Dan Axel Finckh Alfred Mahr Thomas Neumann Stephan Reichenbach Camillo Ribi Luca Seitz Peter Villiger Lukas Wildi Thomas Daikeler on behalf of Giant Cell Arteritis SCQM Study Group Management of giant-cell arteritis in Switzerland: an online national survey Swiss Medical Weekly |
| title | Management of giant-cell arteritis in Switzerland: an online national survey |
| title_full | Management of giant-cell arteritis in Switzerland: an online national survey |
| title_fullStr | Management of giant-cell arteritis in Switzerland: an online national survey |
| title_full_unstemmed | Management of giant-cell arteritis in Switzerland: an online national survey |
| title_short | Management of giant-cell arteritis in Switzerland: an online national survey |
| title_sort | management of giant cell arteritis in switzerland an online national survey |
| url | https://smw.ch/index.php/smw/article/view/3311 |
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