Predictors of Permanent Vision Loss in Giant Cell Arteritis

To report on the occurrence and characteristics of eye manifestations and determine the predictors of permanent vision loss (PVL) in patients with giant cell arteritis. Case-control study. Retrospective cohort study of 258 patients diagnosed with giant cell arteritis (GCA) over a 20- year period at a single institution. Eighty nine of 258 patients (34.5%) with GCA had vision symptoms and 56 (21.7%) developed PVL. Acute loss of vision with no preceding ocular symptoms occurred in 28.5%; for those with symptoms, median time to vision loss was 4.5 days. Bilateral clinical eye involvement was present in 38%, mostly anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (AION), rarely vascular occlusions. Vision loss was severe with acuity of count fingers or less or mean deficit -20 decibels or less in at least one eye in 80% of patients with PVL. Following initiation of GC treatment, 23% of patients continued to have further vision loss and only 5% showed improvement. We found predictors of PVL by multivariate analysis to be increased age (OR 1.05, p0.040), jaw claudication (OR 2.29, p = .040), diplopia (OR 2.74, p = .039), increased platelets (OR 2.98, p = .020) and lower CRP (OR 0.63, p = .004). We found there is a 27.3% decrease in the odds of having PVL when CRP value is doubled, keeping all other variables fixed. Permanent vision loss was 3.07 times more likely in the absence of polymyalgia rheumatica and 4.25 times more likely in patients without headaches. Ocular involvement in GCA is common, usually severe with little chance of recovery. Detailed analysis of visual acuity and visual field loss in our PVL cohort adds valuable data to the literature which lacks this information. Older patients with jaw claudication, diplopia, and increased platelets are at higher risk for permanent vision loss, especially when PMR and headache are absent and acute phase reactants lower.