Hypertension in the liver clinic - polyarteritis nodosa in a patient with hepatitis B

Chronic hepatitis caused by hepatitis B virus (HBV) is an endemic disease in India. It is associated with extrahepatic manifestations like polyarteritis nodosa (PAN) which is a vasculitis like disorder, presenting in subacute or chronic phase; involving visceral and systemic vessels. It should always be considered as a possible etiology of hypertension in an underlying setting of hepatitis B. We describe a 56-year-male patient with a history of chronic HBV who presented to the outpatient clinic with history of recent onset hypertension and suspected liver disease. Further work up for the cause of recent hypertension included a contrast computerized tomography of abdomen, which revealed concomitant pathologies of chronic liver disease and multiple aneurysms in bilateral kidneys. This case illustrates the unusual presentation of extrahepatic manifestation of viral hepatitis in the form of PAN of kidneys. PAN as an independent entity may be missed in specialized clinics evaluating liver pathologies, due to its insidious onset, atypical clinical symptoms and multi-systemic manifestations. The knowledge of extrahepatic, renal and vascular manifestations of hepatitis B unrelated to liver disease should be considered by physicians at the time of diagnosis and management of patients with HBV.