title: An aetiological & clinicopathological study on cutaneous vasculitis.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Cutaneous vasculitis has protean clinical manifestations. It may be idiopathic or associated with a spectrum of conditions such as infections, drugs, etc. Skin is involved in both small vessel vasculitis (SVV) and medium vessel vasculitis (MVV). Overlapping features are seen between SVV and MVV. The histopathological features may not always relate with the clinical lesions. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the aetiological factors and clinicopathological association in patients with cutaneous vasculitis.
  
  
  METHODS
  In this cross-sectional study, detailed history and clinical examination were done on patients with biopsy proven cutaneous vasculitis. Two skin biopsies were taken from each patient for routine histopathology and direct immunofluorescence.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of the 61 patients studied, hypersensitivity vasculitis (HSV) [23 (37.7%)] and Henoch Schonlein purpura (HSP) [16 (26.2%)] were the two most common forms. Systemic involvement was seen in 32 (52.45%) patients. Drugs were implicated in 12 (19.7%) cases, infections in 7 (11.4%) and connective tissue disorders in 4 (6.5%) cases. Histologically SVV was the most common pattern, seen in all the clinically diagnosed patients with SVV (47), and in 12 of the 14 clinically diagnosed patients with MVV. Direct immunofluorescence showed positivity for at least one immunoreactant in 62 per cent of the patients and the most common deposit was C3 followed by IgG, IgA and IgM.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Majority of our patients with cutaneous vasculitis were idiopathic. Histologically, SVV was seen in most of our patients. No association was seen between history of drug intake and tissue eosinophilia and also between histologically severe vasculitis and clinical severity. The presence of immunoreactant IgA was not specific for HSP.
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology & Venereology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India.
authors.forename: Pooja
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Khetan
authors.forename: Gomathy
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Sethuraman
authors.forename: Binod K
authors.initials: BK
authors.lastname: Khaitan
authors.forename: Vinod K
authors.initials: VK
authors.lastname: Sharma
authors.forename: Rajeeva
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Gupta
authors.forename: Amit K
authors.initials: AK
authors.lastname: Dinda
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Sreenivas
authors.forename: Manoj K
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: Singh
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001706:Biopsy; D001808:Blood Vessels / Q000473:pathology*; D002648:Child; D003240:Connective Tissue Diseases / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D011695:IgA Vasculitis / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology* / Q000473:pathology*; D008297:Male; D055953:Microscopic Polyangiitis / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology* / Q000473:pathology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D018366:Vasculitis, Leukocytoclastic, Cutaneous / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology* / Q000473:pathology*