The distribution of affected organs may suggest a particular type of vasculitis. This topic will review the nomenclature of the different vasculitides and provide an overview of the approach to the patient with suspected vasculitis.

When systemic vasculitis is suspected, the diagnostic work-up can be approached in a stepwise fashion: Attempt to exclude other processes, particularly infection, thrombosis and...

Vasculitis presents several diagnostic challenges. Firstly, patients could present with protean clinical manifestations with a wide spectrum ranging from isolated cutaneous vasculitis to multisystem involvement. Secondly, there are several medical ...

Aug 8, 2023 · When suspecting vasculitis workup should include a complete blood cell count (CBC) (usually associated with neutrophilia, anemia, and thrombocytosis), kidney function (may be abnormal in renal involvement from GPA, Churg-Strauss, etc.), liver function studies, erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) and/or C-reactive protein (CRP), [elevation in ...

Glucocorticoids are the primary treatment for many forms of vasculitis. Additional immunosuppressive agents, including methotrexate and cyclophosphamide, are sometimes required. Newer approaches,...

May 10, 2023 · Investigations must be performed to detect signs of inflammation, to determine the type and extent of organ involvement, to test for vasculitis-specific autoantibodies, and to rule out...

The management scheme for vasculitis generally includes the following components: Remission induction – The goal of initial treatment is to induce remission of the disease. Initial management usually involves medium to high doses of glucocorticoids, with the addition of an immunosuppressive agent in most forms of disease.

Feb 5, 2025 · Imaging tests for vasculitis include X-rays, ultrasounds, CT scans, MRIs and positron emission tomography (PET) scans. X-rays of your blood vessels. During this procedure, called angiography, a flexible catheter resembling a thin straw goes into a large artery or vein. A special dye goes into the catheter.

The diagnosis of vasculitis usually requires a biopsy of an involved organ (skin, kidney, lung, nerve, temporal artery). This allows us to ‘see’ the vasculitis by looking under a microscope to see the inflammatory immune cells in the wall of the blood vessel.

Aug 12, 2024 · A typical initial evaluation includes a skin biopsy to confirm vasculitis, careful review of the patient history to assess for the etiology of vasculitis, and laboratory tests to assess for systemic involvement.