Systemic Vasculitis

Systemic vasculitis

What it is?
Vasculitis is a group of inflammatory diseases of blood vessels, or rather their walls. Currently, there are several types of vasculitis. The main ones are:

1. Periarteritis nodosa (segmental damage to small and medium-sized arteries)
2. Wegener's granulomatosis (this disease first affects the blood vessels of the upper respiratory tract and lungs, and then the vessels of the kidneys)
3. Giant cell temporal arteritis (inflammation of large vessels)
4. Nonspecific aortoarteritis (inflammation of large vessels and aorta)
5. Thromboangiitis obliterans (damage to the arteries of the extremities with their blockage)
6. Behcet's syndrome (vasculitis, in which there are three characteristic changes: stomatitis (inflammation of the gums), changes in the mucous membranes of the genital organs and inflammatory damage to the eyes).

Why does this happen?
The immediate cause of vasculitis is not clear.

What's happening?
With all vasculitis, various vessels are affected, which leads to disruption of the blood supply to organs and systems and to their further changes. Each type of vasculitis has its own characteristics.

Periarteritis nodosa. The disease develops mainly in men. Patients develop muscle pain, fever, and body weight decreases. Severe abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting may occur suddenly. The disease threatens strokes and mental disorders.

Wegener's granulomatosis. The disease is characterized by: pain in the paranasal sinuses, purulent or bloody discharge from the nose, ulcers on the nasal mucosa, destruction of the nasal septum and (in connection with this) saddle-shaped deformation of the nose. In addition, other serious problems arise: in the lungs - cough, hemoptysis, shortness of breath and chest pain; in the kidneys - rapid development of renal failure.

Giant cell temporal arteritis. It affects older people (60-80 years old). The disease is characterized by: undulating fever, weakness, malaise, weight loss, throbbing severe headaches, aggravated by chewing, swelling in the temporal region.

Nonspecific aortoarteritis. Patients complain of fatigue in the limbs, pain with increased exertion, there may be fainting and blurred vision.

Thromboangiitis obliterans. Its symptoms depend on the affected vessels. The vessels of the extremities are mainly affected, which leads to the development of lameness and numbness of the hands.

Behçet's syndrome. Its most common symptom is recurrent stomatitis. The second most common symptom is ulcers on the scrotum and penis in men, the vagina and external genitalia in women; Various eye inflammations develop.

Diagnostics
If the above symptoms appear, you should contact a rheumatologist. Patients are prescribed a clinical blood test, clinical urine test, angiography (vascular examination), and chest x-ray.

Treatment
Treatment depends on the type of vasculitis. Anti-inflammatory drugs, immunosuppressants (suppressing immunity) and drugs that improve blood flow in the vessels are mainly prescribed.

Other aspects of the management of patients with vasculitis are associated with the involvement of specialists of various profiles in their treatment. The development of complications in these diseases, as a rule, requires coordinated actions of therapists, nephrologists, otolaryngologists, neurologists, surgeons, ophthalmologists, etc. In these situations, a unified approach to the treatment of vasculitis is especially important.