RESUMEN
Various conditions under the umbrella term of vasculitis have been well documented in the literature. These have been classified into small, medium, and large vessel vasculitis. In addition, vasculitis has been categorized into radiation-induced, systemic, and paraneoplastic. Of these, paraneoplastic vasculitis accounts for 2-5% of all cases of vasculitides and is less well documented. We present a case of a female patient with a history of breast cancer presenting with an upper gastrointestinal tract (GI) bleed, which subsequently revealed an underlying diagnosis of systemic vasculitis, possibly paraneoplastic. This case highlights the importance of imaging for revealing underlying vasculitis as an etiology of GI bleed.
RESUMEN
The association between antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA)-associated vasculitis and hematologic malignancy has been previously described and remains a rare phenomenon (although potentially underdiagnosed). We report the case of an 81-year-old patient with myelodysplastic syndrome who was managed for an infectious-appearing pneumonia, which subsequently complicated into complete heart block and severe acute respiratory distress syndrome with a fatal outcome. The final diagnosis is severe hemorrhagic alveolitis due to ANCA-associated vasculitis meeting the criteria for microscopic polyangiitis. This article provides an opportunity to discuss the association between ANCA-associated vasculitis and hematologic malignancies and the adverse prognosis associated with it.
RESUMEN
En este artículo se hace una revisión extensa sobre las vasculitis primarias y se recopila la información latinoamericana que aparece referen-ciada en las más importantes bases de datos mundiales en inglés, español y portugués, desde el año 1945 hasta septiembre del año 2007. Igualmente se establecieron varios contactos con reumatólogos o médicos interesados en este tópico. Se realizaron búsquedas secundarias de los estudios que aparecieran citados en los artículos seleccionados y se revisaron manualmente abstracts de congresos.
In this paper an extensive review about primary vasculitis and Latino American information that appears referenced in the most important world wide data bases in English, Spanish and Portuguese from 1945 to september 2007, is compiled. Several contacts with rheumatologist or physician interested in this topic were made. Also secondary searches of the studies that appeared mentioned in selected articles were made and the abstracts of congresses were reviewed manually.