Vasculitis

Vasculitis

This condition occurs when there is inflammation in the blood vessels. This will lead to the variation in the caliber of vessels and at last causes obstruction of vessel causing end organ damage.

Symptoms

Symptoms are due to restricted blood flow and vary greatly person to person.Vasculitis Symptoms Causes Treatment

Different conditions are associated with the vasculitis and differ in sign and symptoms like;

  • In Behcet’s disease there are mouth ulcers, eye inflammation, ulcers in genitals and ache like lesions.
  • In Buerger’s disease. There are pain and ulcers in hands and feet. This condition is also known as thromboangiitis obliterans.
  • In Churg-Strauss syndrome there is asthma, nerve pain, allergies of nose and changes on skin.
  • In Cryoglobulinemia there is pain in joints, rashes and tingling sensations on skin.
Causes

Exactly the cause of this diseases is unknown some genetic makeup can be the cause. However different infection can lead to the diseases like hepatitis B and C, hematological cancers, rheumatoid arthritis, scleroderma or some drugs can also lead to the formation of vasculitis.

Complications

Major complications are;

  • End organ damage.
  • Aneurysm
  • Blindness
  • Infection and sepsis.
Diagnosis

Detailed history and genral physical examination helps to n=rule out the actual cause of vasculitis. However, some tests also give clue like:

  • Blood test which detect C reactive proteins which is the indicator of inflammation.
  • Urine test that determine the proteins in the blood.
  • Imagining tests like CT scan, MRI, proton emission tomography (PMT) can detect the condition of blood vessel.
  • Biopsy of blood vessel is sometimes required.
Treatment
  • Main treatment include corticosteroid including prednisone which helps to ease inflammation.
  • Surgery can also be considered if vasculitis is complicated to the development of aneurysm.
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