Localized vasculitis of the gastrointestinal tract

We studied the clinical and pathologic findings of 63 patients with localized vasculitis of the gastrointestinal tract, including 35 partial bowel resections, 14 cholecystectomies, five partial pancreatectomies, six appendectomies, one omentectomy, one gastrectomy, and one esophagectomy. Vasculitis was classified histologically as polyarteritis (n = 33), phlebitis (n = 12), Churg-Strauss angiitis (n = 8), small-vessel vasculitis (n = 6), Buerger's disease (n = 2), and giant-cell arteritis (n = 1). Nineteen of 33 cases of polyarteritis affected the small bowel or gallbladder, and nine patients with polyarteritis had elevated serum antinuclear antibodies or rheumatoid factor. Eight of 12 cases of phlebitis affected the right colon; there were giant cells in four of these 12 cases, a history of medication use in seven of eight cases, and no evidence of serum autoantibodies. Short-term follow-up (mean, 5 years) demonstrated that systemic disease developed in six of 23 patients with polyarteritis (four of whom had elevated serum rheumatoid factor or antinuclear antibodies), the patient with giant-cell arteritis, and one of two patients with Buerger's disease. Systemic vasculitis did not develop in patients with other types of vasculitis. We conclude that patients with gastrointestinal phlebitis, polyarteritis without serum autoantibodies, and small-vessel vasculitis have a low short-term risk for the development of systemic disease.