Classification and clinical diagnosis of cutaneous vasculitides

The definition, diagnostic criteria and classification of systemic vasculitides, of which cutaneous vasculitides (CV) are a part, have long been discussed by the medical scientific world. The most significant contribution is due to the consensus-based criteria specifically derived by the combination of judgments from groups of experts, after accurate literature reviews and developed using consensus techniques. First of them came from the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) in 1990. In 1994 the Chapel Hill International Consensus Conference (CHCC) produced the Consensus-based Criteria essentially providing proper nomenclature for systemic vasculitis, which has been modified in 2012 by the CHCC2012. Moreover, in 2006 European League against Rheumatism and Pediatric Rheumatology European Society produced consensus criteria for the classification of childhood vasculitis. In CHCC2012 CV, affecting small vessels with a predominant skin involvement, have been included in both small vessel vasculitis and single organ vasculitis. The general characteristics of so-called CV have been described (epidemiology, clinical features, histopathology and etiopathogenesis) and, finally, the major characteristics of each clinical type of CV as well as their diagnostic criteria currently available in the literature have been reported.