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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Med.
Sec. Rheumatology
Volume 11 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fmed.2024.1440725
This article is part of the Research Topic New insights into the role of imaging in large vessel vasculitis View all 6 articles

Increase in interest with introduction of fast-track diagnostic pathway is associated with the regionally increased frequency of giant cell arteritis in Poland -a study based on POLVAS registry data

Provisionally accepted
Marcin Milchert Marcin Milchert 1*Krzysztof Wójcik Krzysztof Wójcik 2JACEK MUSIAL JACEK MUSIAL 2Anna Masiak Anna Masiak 3Maria Majdan Maria Majdan 4R Jeleniewicz R Jeleniewicz 4Witold Tłustochowicz Witold Tłustochowicz 5A Kur-Zalewska A Kur-Zalewska 6M Wislowska M Wislowska 7Anna Lewandowska-Polak Anna Lewandowska-Polak 8J Makowska J Makowska 8Marek Brzosko Marek Brzosko 1
  • 1 Department of Rheumatology and Internal Diseases, Pomeranian Medical University, Szczecin, Poland
  • 2 Department of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Jagiellonian University Medical College, Kraków, Lesser Poland, Poland
  • 3 Department of Endocrinology and Internal Medicine, Medical University of Gdansk, Gdansk, Poland
  • 4 Department of Rheumatology and Connective Tissue Diseases, Medical University of Lublin, Lublin, Lublin, Poland
  • 5 Department of Internal Medicine and Endocrinology, Medical University of Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland
  • 6 Military Institute of Medicine (Poland), Warsaw, Masovian, Poland
  • 7 National Institute of Geriatrics, Rheumatology and Rehabilitation, Warsaw, Poland
  • 8 Department of Rheumatology, Medical University of Lodz, Lodz, Poland

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Slavic population such as this of Poland is considered to have a low prevalence of GCA, although epidemiological data are sparse. The aim of the study was to compare the reported frequency of GCA in various regions of Poland and to analyze the differences between them.We conducted a multicenter, retrospective study of all GCA patients included in POLVAS registrythe first large multicenter database of patients with vasculitis in Poland. The data from POLVAS registry were compared with the reported prevalence provided by national insurer from the corresponding regions.Tenfold increase in the diagnostic rates of GCA was observed in Poland between 2008 and 2019 reaching 8.38 per 100 000 population > 50 years old. It may be attributed to increased interest accompanied by improved diagnostic modalities with introduction of ultrasound based, fast-track diagnostic pathway in some centers. However, regional inequities are present resulting tenfold differences (from 2.57 to 24.92) in reported prevalence between different regions. Corticosteroids monotherapy was the mainstem of treatment.Further cooperation and education is needed to minimize regional inequities. This observational study suggest some potential for further increase of recognizability of GCA and wider use of other than corticosteroids monotherapy treatment regimens. We hope that polish experience might be interesting and serve some guidance for the populations where GCA is underdiagnosed.

    Keywords: Giant Cell Arteritis, fast-track clinic, ultrasound, Prevalence, Registry

    Received: 29 May 2024; Accepted: 22 Jul 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Milchert, Wójcik, MUSIAL, Masiak, Majdan, Jeleniewicz, Tłustochowicz, Kur-Zalewska, Wislowska, Lewandowska-Polak, Makowska and Brzosko. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Marcin Milchert, Department of Rheumatology and Internal Diseases, Pomeranian Medical University, Szczecin, Poland

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