Demographic and Clinical Features of ANCA-Associated Vasculitides in a Peruvian Tertiary Center

The aim of this study was to identify the demographic and clinical features of patients with ANCA-associated vasculitides (AAVs) in a Peruvian tertiary referral hospital.

Medical records of patients with AAV according to classification criteria or diagnosed by an experienced rheumatologist, and covering the period between January 1990 and December 2019, were reviewed. Granulomatosis with polyangiitis (GPA), microscopic polyangiitis (MPA), eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis (EGPA), and renal-limited vasculitis (RLV) were included. Demographic factors (age at diagnosis, sex), disease duration, clinical manifestations (per organ involvement), creatinine level at diagnosis (milligram per deciliter), ANCA status, diagnosis, 2009 Five Factor Score, disease categorization, and treatment were recorded.

Two hundred twelve patients were included. Their female-to-male ratio was 1.9:1 (139 [65.6%]/73 [34.4%]), and their mean (SD) age at diagnosis was 59.2 (12.5) years. One hundred fifty-eight patients (74.5%) had MPA, 42 (19.8%) GPA, 7 (3.3%) RLV, and 5 (2.4%) EGPA. Neurological, lung, and renal involvements were the most frequently affected systems. Myeloperoxidase preferentially occurred in MPA (82.5%), whereas proteinase 3 did occur in GPA (79.5%). Microscopic polyangiitis patients were older (61.1 [11.5] years). Female sex predominated in MPA and RLV (2.4:1 and 6:1, respectively), but the opposite was the case for EGPA (1:4). Ear-nose-throat and ocular involvement were more frequent in GPA (both p's < 0.001), and neurological and cardiovascular involvement were more frequent in EGPA (p < 0.001 and p = 0.002, respectively).

This is one of the largest series of AAV patients in Latin America. Overall, female sex predominated. Microscopic polyangiitis was the most frequent AAV, and myeloperoxidase-ANCA was the most frequent antibody in Peruvian AAV population.