title: Assessment of the Birmingham vasculitis activity score in patients with MPO-ANCA-associated vasculitis: sub-analysis from a study by the Japanese Study Group for MPO-ANCA-associated vasculitis.
abstract: OBJECTIVES: In the study cohort enrolled in a prospective open-label, multicenter trial conducted by the Japanese Study Group for MPO-ANCA-associated vasculitis (JMAAV), we conducted this sub-analysis to establish the validity of the Birminghan vasculitis activity score (BVAS) for Japanese patients with MPO-ANCA-associated vasculitis. METHODS: We recorded the BVAS at the time of diagnosis, at 6 weeks after the diagnosis, and at 3, 6, 9, 12, 15 and 18 months after the diagnosis in this study. RESULTS: The most frequently involved organs in the patients were the lungs, kidneys and the nervous system. The kidney (BVAS; new/worse 69.2 %, persistent 40.4 %), general (BVAS; new/worse 67.3 %, persistent 53.8 %), chest (BVAS; new/worse 36.5 %, persistent 46.2 %) and nervous system (BVAS; new/worse 38.5 %, persistent 25.0 %) were the organ systems most frequently involved by the disease at the baseline. The BVAS for new/worse disease decreased immediately after induction therapy, while improvement of the BVAS for persistent disease after therapy differed among the organ systems. CONCLUSIONS: BVAS was demonstrated to be a valuable guide for selection of the optimal treatment. Thus, BVAS was also found to be a useful tool in Japanese patients for the assessment of disease activity and degree of organ damage in patients with MPO-ANCA-associated vasculitis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Nephrology, Internal Medicine, International University of Health and Warfare Hospital, 537-3 Iguchi, Nasushiobara, Tochigi, 329l-2763, Japan, wyumura@iuhw.ac.jp.
authors.forename: Wako
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Yumura
authors.forename: Shigeto
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kobayashi
authors.forename: Machi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Suka
authors.forename: Taichi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hayashi
authors.forename: Satoshi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ito
authors.forename: Hiroko
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Nagafuchi
authors.forename: Hidehiro
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yamada
authors.forename: Shoichi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ozaki