What Is Vasculitis?
Vasculitis is a group of diseases in which blood vessels become inflamed. This inflammation can cause blood vessels to narrow, weaken, or get blocked, reducing blood flow to organs and tissues.
Why Does Vasculitis Occur?
Triggers include autoimmune diseases, infections, medications, malignancies or unknown causes. In autoimmune vasculitis body’s own immune cells infiltrates blood vessels wall and cause inflammation there. Why immune system attacks own blood vessels is not entirely clear.
Types of Vasculitis:
Based on the size of blood vessels involved vasculitis are classified into the following class:
- Large vessel vasculitis: Giant Cell Arteritis, Takayasu Arteritis
- Medium vessel vasculitis: Polyarteritis Nodosa, Kawasaki Disease
- Small vessel vasculitis: ANCA-associated vasculitis, IgA Vasculitis, Cutaneous vasculitis
- Variable vessel vasculitis: Behcet’s disease
Common Symptoms
- General: fever, fatigue, weight loss
- Skin: rashes, ulcers, digital gangrenes
- Joints: pain, swelling
- Nerves: numbness, weakness, pain, paresthesia
- Lungs: breathlessness, cough, hemoptysis (blood in sputum)
- Kidneys: blood or protein in urine on laboratory testing
- Eyes: vision problems, redness of eyes, eye swelling
- Ear: Hearing loss, discharge
- Leg or arm pain on use termed as claudication
Diagnosis
Blood tests, imaging (USG/CT/MRI/PET), and biopsy when required.
Treatment
Vasculitis are complex diseases and require a through evaluation of the extent of involvement and severity of the disease. Treatment is titrated accordingly. It involves steroids, immunosuppressive medicines, biologic therapies, plasma-exchange and supportive care.
Self-Care
Take medicines regularly, do not stop steroids suddenly, attend follow-ups, prevent infections, avoid smoking.
When to Seek Urgent Help
Sudden vision loss, breathlessness, weakness, reduced urine output, high fever, skin lesion or color changes in the fingers, chest pain abdominal pain, unusual headaches are among the few symptoms that needs immediate attention.
