Vasculitis Flashcards
What is vasculitis?
What causes it?
Inflammation of the blood vessels
Autoimmune condition
Med and large generally caused by direct damage
Small generally caused by indirect damage
What condition is commonly mistaken for asthma/allergies?
What can be found on blood samples which explains this?
What kind of vasculitis is this?
EGPA (eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangitits)
High eosinophil count
ANCA +ve small vessel
What are the two types of large vessel vasculitis that you must know?
What differentiates them easily?
Giant cell arteritis (GCA)
Takayasu arteritis (TA)
GCA
- over 50
- affects carotid -> facial arteries
TA
- under 50 (most typically asian woman in 20-30)
- affects aorta and its branches more commonly
What will you find histologically in both forms of large vessel vasculitis?
What would only be found in GCA?
Granulomas in internal elastic lamina
Multinucleated Giant cells
Name some general symptoms of vasculitis
- Night sweats
- Fever
- Weight loss
- Malaise
- Arthlagia
(kinda similar to TB)
What condition can present with a saddle nose deformity (collapse of nasal cartilage)
GPA - granulomatosis with polyangitits
What’s the difference in presentation between GPA and microscopic polyangitis?
What’s the difference histologically?
Both will affect lungs and kidneys
Only GPA affects nasal and sinus
No granulomas present in microscopic polyangitits
What condition can lung opacities be found in?
How may this condition also present nasally?
GPA
Bloody nasal mucus
Chronic sinus pain
What condition leads in 90% of cases to glomerulonephritis?
Microscopic polyangitits
Why may a negative biopsy in large vessel vasculitis not rule out the disease?
It appears in skip lesions so a -ve biopsy is not able to rule out disease
On bloods what is present in large vessel vasculitis?
V. raised ESR
What small vessel condition most commonly presents in middle aged men?
GPA
What can be found on CT angiography in large vessel vasculitis?
Vessel stenosis
Thickening of vessel walls
How is large vessel vasculitis managed?
Prednisolone (40-60mg) and then reduce
How is ANCA +ve small vessel vasculitis managed?
Corticosteroids
cyclophosphamide