i107 Vasculitis mimics

Abstract

The systemic vasculitides are a group of heterogenous diseases characterised by vascular inflammation. Vasculitis may be primary for example the ANCA associated vasculitides and large vessel vasculitides such as Takayasu's or GCA or secondary to diseases such as systemic lupus erythematosus or rheumatoid arthritis. However, since the diagnosis is critically dependent on clinical assessment, supported where possible by biopsy or serology, there are many traps for the unwary. A wide variety of infections can either directly trigger vasculitis such as hepatitis B and C, cytomegalovirus and HIV or may be associated with vasculitis such as hepatitis B and polyarteritis nodosa. Malignancies such as leukaemia and lymphomas can also mimic vasculitis and particular attention is drawn to patients with established vasculitides who develop new clinical features that may be mistaken for a vasculitis flare but in fact turn out to be a malignancy or infection. Rather than provide an exhaustive and rather tedious list of vasculitis mimics, this lecture will give clinical examples of patients initially thought to have a systemic vasculitis but where the final diagnosis was very different.