Relapses and long-term remission in large vessel giant cell arteritis in northern Italy: Characteristics and predictors in a long-term follow-up study

To evaluate characteristics and predictors of relapses and long-term remission in an Italian cohort of patients with large-vessel (LV) giant cell arteritis (GCA). We evaluated 87 consecutive patients with LV-GCA followed up at the Rheumatology Unit of Reggio Emilia Hospital (Italy) for at least 2 years. Patients with relapses and long-term remission were compared to those without. A group of 34 patients with biopsy proven GCA without LV...