ArticleBioMed research international2013
Leflunomide as a corticosteroid-sparing agent in giant cell arteritis and polymyalgia rheumatica: a case series.
Article in BioMed research international, 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT03576794 (A Multicenter Randomized Placebo Controlled Treatment Study of Leflunomide in Polymyalgia Rheumatica), which is not on this map. Cited by 44 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
A Multicenter Randomized Placebo Controlled Treatment Study of Leflunomide in Polymyalgia Rheumatica
Who cites it
44 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 110 citations in OpenAlex.
- The 2026 British Society for Rheumatology guideline for the treatment of polymyalgia rheumatica.Rheumatology (Oxford, England) · 2026Guideline
- Small-Molecule Strategies for Polymyalgia Rheumatica and Giant Cell Arteritis in Older Adults.Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Methylprednisolone plus MTX-based regime vs prednisone-based standard of care for GCA: a propensity score study.Rheumatology (Oxford, England) · 2026Article
- Modern Management of Isolated Polymyalgia Rheumatica.Rheumatology and therapy · 2025Review
- The effectiveness and safety of leflunomide in the treatment of giant cell arteritis: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Rheumatology advances in practice · 2025Review
- Illness Burden and Unmet Patient Needs in Giant Cell Arteritis: Current State and Future Prospects.Open access rheumatology : research and reviews · 2025Review
- Norwegian society of rheumatology recommendations on diagnosis and treatment of patients with Polymyalgia Rheumatica: a narrative review.BMC rheumatology · 2024Article
- Traditional and Emerging Strategies for Managing Polymyalgia Rheumatica: Insights into New Treatments.Journal of clinical medicine · 2024Review
- Current Perspectives in Giant Cell Arteritis: Can We Better Connect Pathogenesis and Treatment?Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) · 2024Review
- Leflunomide as a therapeutic alternative to methotrexate as a glucocorticoid-sparing agent in polymyalgia rheumatica.Rheumatology advances in practice · 2024Article
- Effectiveness of methotrexate and leflunomide as corticoid-sparing drugs in patients with polymyalgia rheumatica.Rheumatology advances in practice · 2024Article
- Giant cell arteritis: reviewing the advancing diagnostics and management.Eye (London, England) · 2023Review
- Giant Cell Arteritis: State of the Art in Diagnosis, Monitoring, and Treatment.Rambam Maimonides medical journal · 2023Review
- Case Report and Literature Review of an Atypical Polymyalgia Rheumatica and Its Management.International medical case reports journal · 2023Article
- Article
- Treatment of Giant Cell Arteritis (GCA).Journal of clinical medicine · 2022Review
- Advances in the Treatment of Giant Cell Arteritis.Journal of clinical medicine · 2022Review
- [This is how I treat-Polymyalgia rheumatica with a cumulative dosage of glucocorticoids as low as possible].Zeitschrift fur Rheumatologie · 2022Article
- Large-vessel vasculitis.Nature reviews. Disease primers · 2022Review
- Performance of leflunomide as a steroid-sparing agent in giant cell arteritis: A single-center, open-label study.Frontiers in medicine · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectivesGiant cell arteritis (GCA) and polymyalgia rheumatica (PMR) affect individuals older than 50 years of age and corticosteroids are the mainstay of treatment. The aim of our study was to explore the role of leflunomide as a corticosteroid-sparing agent in GCA and PMR patients.
methodsPatients with difficult-to-treat GCA and PMR were retrospectively identified in the period from 2010 to 2013. The doses of corticosteroids and CRP values were noted before, after three months, and at the end of the treatment with leflunomide (for patients continuing treatment, censoring date was January 1, 2013).
resultsTwenty-three patients were identified (12 with PMR and 11 with GCA). A reduction of 6 mg/dL (CI 95% -10.9-34.2, P = 0.05) in CRP and 3.7 mg (CI 95% 0.5-7.0, P = 0.03) in prednisolone dose was observed in the PMR group. In GCA patients, the reduction was 12.4 mg/dL (CI 95% 0.7-25.5, P = 0.06) in CRP and 6.6 mg (CI 95% 2.8-10.3, P < 0.01) in prednisolone dose.
conclusionLeflunomide seems to be effective as a corticosteroid-sparing agent in patients with difficult-to-treat GCA and PMR. Randomized controlled trials are warranted in order to confirm the usefulness of leflunomide in the therapy of GCA/PMR.
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Registered trials
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