In clinical
practice, vasculitides are often regarded as extremely rare diseases, that
unfortunately sometimes residents and fellows are discouraged to give much
attention to these disorders, instead they ought to prioritize more common
diseases in their studies. Vasculitis is a group of heterogeneous and protean
disorders that pose as a major challenge for internists and physicians from
different medical specialties. Diagnosing a vasculitis may also be an important
challenge for rheumatologists who are not familiar with this fascinating group
of multi organ/system diseases.
Indeed, multiple conditions do mimic manifestations of vasculitis
and are usually more prevalent than vasculitis per Although, the onset of
most systemic vasculitides is subacute, the lack of suspicion of a vasculitis
in a severely ill patient who actually present a systemic vasculitis is
potentially harmful and may result in significant morbidity or even in an
increased risk of death. It is important to emphasize that attempts should
always be made to confirm diagnosis of suspicious cases of vasculitis with
appropriate methods that include imaging studies (e.g. angiography for large
and medium vessel vasculitis), pathology assessment of affected tissue for
small-vessel vasculitis or serologic tests (e.g. antineutrophil cytoplasmic
antibodies, anti-C1q antibodies or cryoglobulins).
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