This report illustrates a case of peripheral nerve vasculitis associated with elevated anticardiolipin antibodies. A 49-year-old female with a history of seven spontaneous abortions initially complained of pain and numbness in her right calf that later spread to the left foot and ankle. Over the next few months, she developed a Raynaud phenomenon and livedo reticularis. Clinical examination rev...

BACKGROUND Most positive antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA) results are associated with non-vasculitic conditions, and guidelines have been proposed for the judicious use of this test. The outcome of applying similar guidelines in a routine laboratory is reported. METHODS All immunology requests (6500) over six months were selected, and those requesting ANCA were studied for the appro...

Granulomatosis with polyangiitis (GPA) is a life-threatening disease characterized by granulomatous inflammation and antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA) associated systemic vasculitis, classically involving upper and lower respiratory tracts and kidney. Milder forms of disease restricted to respiratory tract is referred to as localized GPA (loc-GPA) [1,2]. The European Vasculitis Study G...

Secondary vasculitis resulting from unusual pathologic expressions of infections has been described and has important clinical significance. Infectious agents have also been implicated in the pathogenesis of different primary systemic necrotizing vasculitides. Infectious endocarditis is of particular importance in the differential diagnosis of a patient presenting with ANCA associated vasculiti...

Cogan’s syndrome is a rare, multisystem disease which occurs predominantly in children and young adults. It was originally described as the combination of interstitial keratitis and audiovestibular disturbance, but other forms of ocular disease, as well as systemic vasculitis, have since been recognised as part of the syndrome. Diagnosis can be diYcult if the various manifestations occur separa...

BACKGROUND Chronic urticaria often points the way to the diagnosis of a systemic disease, particularly when urticarial vasculitis can be demonstrated. Hypocomplementemic urticarial vasculitis syndrome (HUVS) is considered to be an independent immunological disease. METHOD Selective literature review and consideration of the author's own clinical experience. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS The main ...