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This prospective population-based study estimated the incidence of giant cell arteritis (GCA) in northeastern Paris. GCA cases diagnosed between 2015 and 2017 were obtained from local hospital and community-based physicians and the national health insurance system database. Criteria for inclusion were living in the study area at that time and fulfilling the 1990 American College of Rheumatology classification criteria and/or its expanded version. Cranial and large-vessel GCA cases were defined by the presence or absence of cranial signs and/or symptoms, respectively. Annual incidence was calculated by dividing the number of incident cases by the size of the study population ≥ 50 years old. Completeness of case ascertainment was assessed by a three-source capture–recapture analysis. Among the 62 included cases, 42 (68%) were women, mean (± SD) age 77.3 ± 9.1 years. The annual incidence of GCA in northeastern Paris and completeness of case ascertainment were estimated at 7.6 (95% CI 5.9–9.8) per 100,000 inhabitants ≥ 50 years old and 66% (95% CI 52–92%), respectively. Incidence increased with age, peaked at age 80–89 years, and was almost twice as high in women versus men. Large-vessel GCA cases, mean (± SD) age 68.6 ± 11.5 years, accounted for 8% of all GCA cases. In this study, GCA epidemiology was mainly driven by cases with cranial GCA signs or symptoms and incidence results were consistent with recent European and past French studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is a connective tissue disease characterized by microangiopathy. Peripheral arterial disease, increasingly studied during SSc, is responsible for digital ulcers, associated with a high risk of amputation. The aim of our study was to assess the frequency of lower limb arterial impairment in SSc patients by measuring ankle-brachial index (ABI), toe pressure (TP), and toe-brachial index (TBI). Methods: Systemic sclerosis patients were included prospectively during 1 year in Tenon and Saint-Antoine Hospitals, Paris. Clinical and biological data were recorded. For each patient, ABI, TP, and TBI were measured and an arterial duplex ultrasonography was prescribed in case of abnormal results. Results: Eighty-six patients were included (94% women, median age 62 years). Only 24% of them had no lower limb hemodynamic vascular abnormalities; 44% had an isolated microvascular abnormality (normal ABI and TBI<0.75); 31% had at least a macrovascular injury associated or not with microvascular impairment (abnormal ABI) and 12.6% had a TP<50 mmHg. During follow-up, there was a trend towards association of low TBI with more major adverse event (all-cause mortality, non-fatal stroke, non-fatal myocardial infarction, and lower limb ischemic manifestations) than normal TBI. Conclusion: By measuring ABI and TP, we showed that 76% of SSc patients had hemodynamic arterial lower limb abnormalities related to macro- and/or microvascular impairment and that 28% had vascular stiffness. In SSc patients, ABI is not an accurate tool to detect lower limb arterial disease, likely due to underlying micro- and macrovascular changes. Key Points • The presence of lower limb macro-and/or microvascular involvement was detected in 76% of SSc patients. • In SSc patients, ABI is not an accurate tool to detect lower limb arterial disease, likely due to underlying microvascular changes and frequent arterial stiffness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]