Vasculitis

What it is

Vasculitis represents a clinically heterogenous group of diseases of multifactorial etiology characterized by inflammation of either large-sized vessels (large-vessel vasculitis, e.g. Giant-cell arteritis and Takayasu arteritis), medium-sized vessels (medium-vessel vasculitis e.g. polyarteritis nodosa and Kawasaki disease), or small-sized vessels (small-vessel vasculitis, e.g. granulomatosis with polyangiitis, microscopic polyangiitis, immunoglobulin A vasculitis, and cutaneous leukocytoclastic angiitis). Vasculitis occurs at any age, may be acute or chronic, and manifests with general symptoms such as fever, weight loss and fatigue, as well as more specific clinical signs depending on the type of vessels and organs affected. The degree of severity is variable, ranging from life or sight threatening disease (e.g. Behçet disease) to relatively minor skin disease.

Key facts

Prevalence

1-9 / 100 000 (Europe)

Classified as

Category

Prevalence figures describe populations, not individuals, and are often estimates from a single study. Where the figure is an incidence or a birth prevalence, it says so.

Cross-references