The Effects of Daily Prednisone and Tocilizumab on Hemoglobin A1c During the Treatment of Giant Cell Arteritis

Objective To study the longitudinal effects of both glucocorticoids and tocilizumab, an interleukin‐6 receptor inhibitor, on hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) levels during glucocorticoid tapering. Methods We analyzed patients with complete data from the Giant Cell Arteritis Clinical Research Study (GiACTA) to...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Arthritis & rheumatology (Hoboken, N.J.) N.J.), 2023-04, Vol.75 (4), p.586-594
Main Authors: Patel, Naomi J., Tozzo, Veronica, Higgins, John M., Stone, John H.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Arteritis
Diabetes
Diabetes mellitus
Erythrocytes
Glucocorticoids
Glucose tolerance
Hemoglobin
Interleukin 6
Interleukins
Patients
Prednisone
Randomization
Tapering
Vein & artery diseases
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Summary:Objective To study the longitudinal effects of both glucocorticoids and tocilizumab, an interleukin‐6 receptor inhibitor, on hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) levels during glucocorticoid tapering. Methods We analyzed patients with complete data from the Giant Cell Arteritis Clinical Research Study (GiACTA) to investigate the impact of both glycemic and nonglycemic factors on changes in HbA1c levels over the 52‐week trial. Giant cell arteritis (GCA) patients were randomized to receive either tocilizumab or placebo in addition to glucocorticoids. We used a multivariable mixed‐effects model to evaluate associations of HbA1c level with daily glucocorticoid dose, randomization to receive tocilizumab, and red blood cell count in patients with and those without diabetes mellitus at baseline, over 52 weeks. Results In 209 patients, the median HbA1c level decreased by 0.50% (P
ISSN:2326-5191
2326-5205
DOI:10.1002/art.42405