[Polyarteritis nodosa]

POLYARTERITIS NODOSA. Polyarteritis nodosa are systemic necrotizing vasculitis of medium size vessels. They are complicated by stenosis or aneurysms of median size vessels. Clinical manifestations are fever, weight loss, mononeuropathy, myalgias, arthritis, cutaneous lesions. Vital and functional prognosis are conditioned by the presence of digestive tract (perforations, bleeding), renal (severe hypertension, vascular nephropathy), cardiac, and central nervous system involvement. Periarteritis nodosa may be primitive or secondary to hemopathy, solid neoplasms, viral infections (B hepatitis, C hepatitis, HIV), autoinflammatory syndrome as ADA2 deficiency. Treatment needs steroids, and severe forms need association with cyclophosphamide.