Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2020 Jul-Aug;95(4):493-507.
doi: 10.1016/j.abd.2020.04.004. Epub 2020 May 24.

Update on vasculitis: overview and relevant dermatological aspects for the clinical and histopathological diagnosis - Part II

Thâmara Cristiane Alves Batista Morita  1 , Paulo Ricardo Criado  2 , Roberta Fachini Jardim Criado  2 , Gabriela Franco S Trés  3 , Mirian Nacagami Sotto  3
Affiliations
Review

Update on vasculitis: overview and relevant dermatological aspects for the clinical and histopathological diagnosis - Part II

Thâmara Cristiane Alves Batista Morita et al. An Bras Dermatol. 2020 Jul-Aug.

Abstract

Vasculitis is a group of several clinical conditions in which the main histopathological finding is fibrinoid necrosis in the walls of blood vessels. This article assesses the main dermatological aspects relevant to the clinical and laboratory diagnosis of small- and medium-vessel cutaneous and systemic vasculitis syndromes. The most important aspects of treatment are also discussed.

Keywords: Anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies; Churg-Strauss syndrome; Henoch-Schönlein purple; Leukocytoclastic cutaneous vasculitis; Systemic vasculitis; Vasculitis; Vasculitis associated with lupus of the central nervous system.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Cutaneous small vessel vasculitis limited to the skin: (a) palpable purpura and necrotic ulcers in the lower limbs; (b) necrosis of endothelial cells from superficial papillary dermis with fibrin deposition, neutrophil infiltration, and leukocytoclasia.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA)-associated vasculitis: (a) eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis manifesting as palpable purpura and petechiae, both common and nonspecific manifestations of this group of vasculitis; (b) a patient with microscopic polyangiitis presenting bilateral necrotic ulcers on the lower limbs.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Cutaneous arteritis with retiform purpura in areas of previous livedo racemosa and histopathological examination, evidencing true vasculitis in the subcutaneous tissue.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Macular lymphocytic arteritis (lymphocytic thrombophilic arteritis) showing livedo-type lesions without ulceration in the legs and the corresponding histopathological examination evidencing, at the dermo-hypodermic junction, an arterial vessel surrounded by lymphocytic infiltrate and with a fibrin ring in the intimal layer.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Nodular vasculitis: the posterolateral regions of the legs are affected by nodules and violaceous plaques. A bandage was placed where a skin biopsy had been done a few days earlier.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Carlson J.A. The histological assessment of cutaneous vasculitis. Histopathology. 2010;56:3–23. - PubMed
    1. Demirkesen C. Approach to cutaneous vasculitides with special emphasis on small vessel vasculitis. Curr Opin Rheumatol. 2017;29:39–44. - PubMed
    1. Chen K.R., Carlson J.A. Clinical approach to cutaneous vasculitis. Am J Clin Dermatol. 2008;9:71–92. - PubMed
    1. Micheletti R.G. Small vessel vasculitis of the skin. In: Dammacco F., Ribatti D., Vacca A., editors. Systemic vasculitides: current status and perspectives. Springer International Publishing; Cham: 2016. pp. 233–244.
    1. Zanoni G., Girolomoni G., Bonetto C., Trotta F., Häusermann P., Opri R. Single organ cutaneous vasculitis: case definition & guidelines for data collection, analysis, and presentation of immunization safety data. Vaccine. 2016;34:6561–6571. - PubMed