Clinical spectrum and outcome of Takayasu's arteritis in children

Abstract

Objectives: We aimed to compare clinical spectrum and outcome between adults and children with Takayasu's arteritis (TAK) in a European population. Methods: We made a nationwide retrospective observational study between 1988 and 2019. All adult patients met the ACR diagnostic criteria for TAK and all children met the EULAR/PRINTO/PRES criteria for paediatric TAK. Results: We identified 46 children and 389 adults with TAK. The male to female ratio was 34/46 (0.74) in the paediatric group compared to 241/274 (0.88) in the adult group (P < 0.05). Children presented with significantly more systemic symptoms; i.e., fever (P < 0.05), fatigue (P < 0.001), weight loss (P < 0.001), abdominal pain (P < 0.05), and myalgia (P < 0.05) while adults had more upper limb claudication (P < 0.01). Topography of the lesions differed significantly between the two groups: adults had more damage at the cerebral vasculature (P < 0.01), upper and lower limbs (P < 0.001) while children had more kidney lesions (P < 0.05). Children TAK had more frequent (P < 0.01) and higher (P < 0.001) biological inflammation than adults. Children received higher dose-weight of corticosteroids (P = 0.001) and less biotherapy (P < 0.010) at diagnosis. Relapses (P < 0.05) and death (8.6% vs 4.9%) were more frequent in children TAK than in adults. Conclusion: Paediatric TAK seems more severe than adult TAK. Therefore, paediatrics patients may require closer monitoring and systemic use of biological treatment.