title: Vasculitis reminds us that 'Ockham's razor' may still apply in the elderly.
abstract: A 76-year-old woman with a history of stage IV chronic kidney disease and hypertension was admitted to the hospital for progressive weakness and acute on chronic kidney injury. She was found to have anaemia requiring transfusion. On the evening of admission, she had worsening respiratory status with subsequent diagnosis of a non-ST-elevation myocardial infarction, pulmonary oedema on chest x-ray presumed to be a result of heart failure, and a possible transfusion reaction. A kidney biopsy performed as part of her ongoing nephrology evaluation revealed granulomatosis with polyangiitis (formerly known as Wegener's granulomatosis). Subsequent bronchoalveolar lavage confirmed diffuse alveolar haemorrhage as the explanation for her anaemia and respiratory decline. She underwent immunosuppressive therapies and initiated dialysis, but subsequently chose hospice care and died 2 months after her diagnosis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Family and Community Medicine, University of Cincinnati/The Christ Hospital, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA. hillary.mount@thechristhospital.com
authors.forename: Hillary R
authors.initials: HR
authors.lastname: Mount
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D017809:Fatal Outcome; D005260:Female; D015577:Geriatric Assessment; D014890:Granulomatosis with Polyangiitis / Q000175:diagnosis*; D006801:Humans