[Prognosis of treated temporal arteritis. Retrospective study of 87 cases]

Eighty-seven patients (mean age 73 years) with histologically proven Horton's disease were followed up in 5 different specialized hospital units from 1970 to 1984. Except for one patient treated exclusively with antimalarials, all were under corticosteroids. The mean initial dose of prednisone or equivalent was 0.7 mg/kg/day and the mean maintenance dose, 10 mg/day. Steroids could be discontinued in 21 cases after 36 months on average; the other patients could not be weaned, even though 4 of them had been on steroids for more than 10 years. Side-effects were noted in 43 cases. Twenty-four patients died, mostly of cardiovascular diseases. Survival rates were 89 +/- 6.35% at 1 year, 60.2 +/- 8.7% at 5 years and 48 +/- 11.3% at 10 years. In the long run, mortality in our series proved to be exactly the same as in the general population. Nineteen patients had ocular manifestations of giant cell arteritis always from the onset, except for a fall in visual acuity; 26 relapses were observed in 18 patients, either during reduction of steroid dosage (21 cases) or after withdrawal (5 cases). In 2 cases histology showed typical lesions of giant cell arteritis after 41 and 50 months respectively under corticosteroid therapy.