The Vasculitides

Key points

• • The vasculitides are diseases in which the walls of blood vessels become inflamed, narrowing or weakening them.
• • They are grouped by the size of vessel affected: large, medium or small.
• • Large-vessel disease includes giant cell arteritis, which affects older people and can cause headache and sudden loss of vision.
• • Medium- and small-vessel disease includes polyarteritis nodosa and the ANCA-associated vasculitides, which can harm the kidneys, nerves, skin and lungs.
• • General features are fever, weight loss, tiredness and raised inflammatory markers, with organ-specific signs depending on the vessels involved.