Rheumatology

Your Article Summary

See Latest Articles

Churg–Strauss angiitis
Best Practice & Research: Clinical Rheumatology, 06/30/09

Sinico RA et al. – Churg–Strauss angiitis or syndrome (CSA) is defined as an eosinophil-rich and granulomatous inflammation involving the respiratory tract, coupled with necrotising vasculitis affecting small- to medium-sized vessels, and is associated with asthma and eosinophilia. This review article outlines the diagnosis and classification and treatment available for this disease.

• It is usually classified among the ANCA-associated systemic vasculitides (AASVs)
• However, ANCA status was shown to segregate with clinical phenotype in two recent studies
• ANCA-positive pts were more likely to have disease manifestations associated with small-vessel vasculitis
• Whereas ANCA-negative cases were more likely to have cardiac and lung involvement
• Preliminary results suggest that ANCA-positive and ANCA-negative pts also might have a different genetic background
• Corticosteroids remain the initial treatment of CSA
• Addition of cyclophosphamide is indicated in treatment of pts with poor-prognosis factors or in pts w/o poor-prognosis factors but those that are prone to relapses
• Length of the maintenance therapy remains to be established
• However, majority of pts require long-term corticosteroids treatment to control asthma

Today in Vasculitic Syndromes...keeping you current

Receive free subspecialty "5-minute updates" via email

One year study of efficacy and safety of infliximab in the treatment of patients with ocular and neurological Behçets disease refractory to standard immunosuppressive drugs
Rheumatology International, 10/30/09

Cutaneous vasculitis induced by TNF inhibitors: a report of three cases
Modern Rheumatology, 10/16/09

Clinicoepidemiological manifestations of RPGN and ANCA-associated vasculitides: an 11-year retrospective hospital-based study in Japan
Modern Rheumatology, 10/14/09

See All of Vasculitic Syndromes