Anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody-associated vasculitis (AAV) is a group of conditions characterized by the development of autoantibodies to the neutrophil proteins proteinase 3 (PR3-ANCA) or myeloperoxidase (MPO-ANCA), leading to systemic inflammation and damage to small blood vessels. AAV includes granulomatosis with polyangiitis (GPA), microscopic polyangiitis (MPA) and eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis (EGPA). Review our collection of…
Polyarteritis nodosa (PAN) is a necrotizing vasculitis, predominantly involving medium-sized arteries, that causes systemic disease, and, less commonly, cutaneous-limited disease. The population prevalence for PAN ranges from 2 to 33 per million.1-3 Estimates vary due to the increased recognition and classification of other forms of vasculitides over time and variation in the regional prevalence of…
In this EULAR 2022 session, new & revised treatment recommendations for ANCA-associated vasculitis, axial spondyloarthritis & rheumatoid arthritis were presented.
Based on findings from a double-blind, placebo-controlled study evaluating its efficacy and safety, rituximab-arrx has received FDA approval for the treatment of patients with rheumatoid arthritis.
The COVID-19 pandemic has filled hospitals with patients with rapidly progressive respiratory failure and diffuse bilateral opacities on chest X-ray.1 Additionally, many patients with severe COVID-19 develop acute kidney injury and require dialysis.2 Pulmonary-renal syndromes are also important to consider in this setting. Although alveolar hemorrhage is a cardinal feature of this syndrome, many patients…
I just couldn’t believe it. Like all of you, I receive many requests to see patients urgently. And like all of you, I can’t possibly accommodate all of those requests. So I triage: I look through the referrals and try to differentiate patients who want to be seen from those who need to be seen….
Granulomatosis with polyangiitis (GPA), is a type of anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA) associated vasculitis (AAV) that affects small- to medium-sized vessels.1 It can occur equally in both men and women, with a reported mean age at onset of 55 years.2 The classical presentation of GPA includes upper respiratory tract (i.e., chronic sinusitis, serous otitis and…
During the ACR Convergence 2021 annual Review Course, Peter Merkel, MD, MPH, provided recent updates on vasculitis.
ACR CONVERGENCE 2021—Many of the effects of childhood-onset systemic lupus erythematosus (cSLE) and vasculitis carry into adulthood and present adult rheumatologists with key differences in managing these patients after their transition from a pediatric to an adult provider. “The young adult with childhood-onset lupus is similar in many ways to adults with lupus, but there…
In early October, the FDA approved avacopan to treat anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody associated vasculitis. Here are insights into the treatment’s risks and considerations.