A VISION OF THE CHARACTERISTICS AND COMORBIDITIES OF GIANT CELL ARTERITIS FROM THE HOSPITAL RECORDS OF THE NATIONAL HEALTH SYSTEM

Background: Gigant cell arteritis (GCA) is the most frequent systemic vasculitis in older than 50 years old, with serious repercussions on the quality of life and survival of patients. The low prevalence and heterogeneous presentation make progress in the diagnostic and the knowledge of the disease difficult. Objectives: The objective of this study has been to gather a large database to analyze the epidemiological characteristics, the comorbidities and the causes of mortality associated with the hospitalizations by ACG in our country. Methods: Retrospective observational study based on data from the Database of Hospital from the Spanish National Health Service with primary or secondary diagnostic of GCA between January 1 , 2005 and December 31th, 2015. The included variables were sex, age, main reason for admission, secondaries diagnostics, time of stay, costs, comorbidities, temporal artery biopsy and mortality. Results: The study cohort included 29.576 patients with GCA, 18.568 (62,8%) women, and the mean age was 80 ± 8 years. The number of hospital admissions with this diagnostic has increased between 2008 and 2013 with an annual cumulative increase rate of 3%, passing from 2.487 to 2.997 patients/year. We have found a different disease affectation pattern in men and women in terms of distribution by age group and the comorbidities associated. We have found that the mortality risk increases with the age and with the presence of cardiovascular disease OR 1,816 (1,484-2,221), ischemic heart disease OR 1,590 (1,302-1,941), renal disease OR 1,386 (1,225-1,569) and cancer OR 2,428 (2,039-2,891). While, a decrease in the risk of death was observed in patients who associated polymyalgia rheumatica OR 0.682 (0, 5810,801). Table 1 Comorbidities and mortality in hospitalized with ACG Men Woman Both sexes N % N % N % DM2 * 2948 26,8% 4669 25,1% 7617 25,8% PMR * 1474 13,4% 2715 14,6% 4189 14,2% ICC* 1298 11,8% 2854 15,4% 4152 14% ENF. RENAL * 1556 14,1% 2413 13,0% 3969 13,4% Cancer 809 7,3% 499 2,7% 1308 4,4% IHD * 626 5,7% 565 3,0% 1191 4% ECV * 502 4,6% 651 3,5% 1153 3,9% EPOC 289 2,6% 559 3,0% 848 2,9% CCI* No comorbidities 4833 43,9% 9174 49,4% 14008 47,4% ≤ 2 Comorbidities 5635 51,2% 8697 46,8% 14332 48,5% > 2 Comorbidities 539 4,9% 697 3,8% 1236 4,2% Mortality 712 6,5% 1083 5,8% 1795 6,1% *Statistically significant differences (P < 0.05) DM2: Diabetes mellitus Type 2 PMR : Polymyalgia rheumatica ICC: Congestive heart failure IHC: ischemic heart disease ECV: Cerebrovascular disease CCI: Charlson Index of Comorbidities Conclusion: In recent years the number of GCA hospital admissions has increased. The presence of comorbidities is high and greater in men. An increase in deaths for ischemic cause and a reduction of mortality in patients with PMR associated is observed. Disclosure of Interests: None declared DOI: 10.1136/annrheumdis-2019-eular.3246Citation: Ann Rheum Dis, volume 78, supplement 2, year 2019, page A1752Session: Vasculitis (Scientific Abstracts)