TY - JOUR T1 - Anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody (rituximab) as an adjunct in the treatment of giant cell arteritis JF - Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases JO - Ann Rheum Dis SP - 1099 LP - 1100 DO - 10.1136/ard.2005.036533 VL - 64 IS - 7 AU - A Bhatia AU - P J Ell AU - J C W Edwards Y1 - 2005/07/01 UR - http://ard.bmj.com/content/64/7/1099.abstract N2 - We describe a patient with polymyalgia rheumatica/giant cell arteritis (PMR/GCA) whose disease was refractory to a reduction in the dose of her glucocorticoid to an acceptable level. Our patient improved after B lymphocyte depletion but developed respiratory problems. To our knowledge this is the first description of such a case. An 82 year old woman presented with a 4 week history of symptoms consistent with GCA of the temporal arteries and PMR. Of significance in her past medical history she had significant chronic airflow limitation with an FEV1/FVC (forced expiratory volume in 1 second/forced vital capacity) of 0.7/1.2. Computed tomography of her chest identified a small area of bronchiectasis in the left lower lobe of her chest. Her erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) and C reactive protein (CRP) were, 109 mm/1st h (normal 1–20) and 230 mg/l (normal 0–5.0), respectively. Treatment was started with 50 mg of prednisolone. Three weeks later … ER -