Clinical, electrophysiological, and histopathological profile of biopsy-proven vasculitic neuropathy

• Published in: Chrismed journal of health and research 2020-04, Vol.7 (2), p.130-134
• Main Authors: Deolalikar, Suchitra, M. Paul, Preethi, Jaison, Vineeth, Nandi, Jayshree, Arora, Deepti, Pandian, Jeyaraj, Kate, Mahesh
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: nerve biopsy; polyneuropathy; vasculitic neuropathy
• ISSN: 2348-3334; 2348-506X
• DOI: 10.4103/cjhr.cjhr_34_19

Background: Vasculitic neuropathies are an uncommon heterogeneous group of nerve disorders characterized by inflammation of the vasa nervorum, which may be either systemic vasculitic neuropathy (SVN) or non-SVN (NSVN). Settings and Design: This is a retrospective, observational study. Materials and Methods: Nerve biopsy-proven cases of vasculitic neuropathy (VN) from January 2011 to December 2017 were included in the study. Results: Twenty-five percent (40/156) patients had vasculitis on biopsy, 62.5% were male and the mean age was 52.8 ± 14.9 years. The median (interquartile range) duration of symptoms before diagnosis was 75 (345) days. Thirty (75%) patients had NSVN and 10 (25%) patients had SVN. The clinical pattern of peripheral nervous system involvement was as follows: 20 (50%) had polyneuropathy, 13 (32.5%) had mononeuritis multiplex, and 7 (32.5%) had polyradiculoneuropathy. Twenty-three (57.5%) patients received immunomodulatory therapy. Conclusion: VN has a wide spectrum of clinical presentation. High index of suspicion followed by nerve biopsy is needed for diagnosis. Early treatment may improve prognosis in this group of patients.