BOTTOM LINE Vasculitis is a heterogenous group of diseases classified by blood vessel size. Large vessel vasculitis symptoms include claudication, bruits, aneurysms, asymmetrical blood pressures/pulses. Medium vessel includes skin nodules/ulcers,…
BOTTOM LINE GCA is a large-medium vessel vasculitis affecting patients over the age of 50 (more often female) and typically over 70 years old. GCA affects the major cranial arteries…
BOTTOM LINE Takayasu arteritis (TAK) is a large-vessel vasculitis affecting the aorta and its primary branches, occurring more often in women <40 years old and Asians (but all ethnicities are affected).…
BOTTOM LINE Polyarteritis nodosa (PAN) is a rare necrotizing vasculitis affecting medium-sized muscular arteries and occasionally small muscular arteries most commonly supplying kidneys, skin, joints, muscles, nerves, and GI tract;…
BOTTOM LINE GPA and MPA are distinct necrotizing small-size vessel anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA)-associated vasculitides (AAV) with overlapping features. GPA classically involves the upper respiratory tract (including destructive sinusitis), lungs…
BOTTOM LINE EGPA vasculitis (formerly “Churg-Strauss Syndrome”) is a small/medium vessel necrotizing granulomatous systemic vasculitis characterized by asthma and chronic rhinosinusitis with blood and tissue eosinophilia; systemic symptoms may include…
BOTTOM LINE Immune complex mediated vasculitis is a group of small vessel vasculitis caused by deposition of immunoglobulin and/or complement on vessel walls. Common features include purpuric skin rash, neuropathy,…
BOTTOM LINE Mixed cryoglobulinemia syndrome is caused by the precipitation of serum immunoglobulins at temperatures <37°C and manifests as immune complex-mediated small-medium vessel vasculitis commonly associated with chronic hepatitis C,…
BOTTOM LINE Behcet’s disease (BD) is a variable vessel vasculitis (affecting small to large vessels of the venous and arterial system) most often affecting young adults and more frequently in…
BOTTOM LINE PCNSV is an extremely rare small-medium vessel vasculitis confined to the central nervous system affecting brain parenchyma, spinal cord and leptomeninges. Presentation is non-specific, but is usually a…