Vasculitis & polymyalgia rheumatica
Treatment and prognostic factors in PMR: a systematic literature review informing German, Austrian and Swiss guidelines
Authors' conclusion
IL6-R inhibitors are effective GC-sparing agents in PMR; rituximab and tofacitinib are also promising.
Study context
- Population
- Interventional and prognostic studies in pure PMR; MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, Cinahl and Web of Science, July 2016-January 202424 publications
Methodological detailsnarrative synthesis, prospective and retrospective studies, grey literature search, Risk of bias assessed with Cochrane RoB 2, QUIPS and ROBINS-I
- Narrative synthesis
- Prospective and retrospective studies
- Grey literature search
- Risk of bias assessed with Cochrane RoB 2, QUIPS and ROBINS-I
Main finding
As reported in the abstract
- Three trials with low risk of bias (ROB) in new onset or relapsing patients: higher remission rates and reduced glucocorticoid (GC) use with an IL-6R inhibitor (tocilizumab or sarilumab)
- Single smaller trials indicated benefit of rituximab and tofacitinib
- MTX showed limited efficacy
- Prognostic factor studies of variable quality, inconclusive results
- Fast-track clinics associated with improved patient outcomes, incl. reduced hospitalization and earlier diagnosis
- 10 interventional trials incl. one follow-up study, and 13 prognostic studies
Observational data: associations, not effects.
Original publication
Treatment and prognostic factors in PMR: a systematic literature review informing German, Austrian and Swiss guidelines. Rheumatology (Oxford). Published 6 August 2025. doi:10.
Composed by AI from the published abstract and checked against it. How Briefs are made →