title: Long-term damage assessment in patients with microscopic polyangiitis and renal-limited vasculitis using the Vasculitis Damage Index.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The Vasculitis Damage Index (VDI) is used to define the degree of damage occurring in patients with systemic vasculitis. We conducted a retrospective study of 30 patients with microscopic polyangiitis (MPA) and renal-limited vasculitis (RLV).
  
  
  METHODS
  The clinical data and VDI of the 30 patients enrolled in the study were collected and assessed for a period of 5 years.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The VDI score, which was 2.5 at 1 year after the initial diagnosis, increased gradually to 4.3 at 5 years post-diagnosis. The degrees of musculoskeletal and ocular damage significantly increased during the 5-year period (p = 0.001 and p = 0.002, respectively). The most frequent damage items in the VDI were cataract (13 %), hypertension (12 %), diabetes mellitus (9 %), and osteoporosis (6 %). The VDI score was significantly higher in the groups of patients who showed relapse or MPA than in the groups of patients who did not show relapse or RLV at 5 years (p = 0.02 and p = 0.03, respectively). In addition, a significant correlation was found between the VDI score at 5 years and the Birmingham Vasculitis Activity Score at diagnosis (p = 0.04, r = 0.4).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The VDI was found to be a useful tool for determining the severity of damage caused by disease and the effects of treatment. The individual contributions of the VDI items may also be applied to treatment decisions.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Kidney Center, Tokyo Women's Medical University , 8-1 Kawada-cho, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 162-8666 , Japan.
authors.forename: Mitsuyo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Itabashi
authors.forename: Takashi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Takei
authors.forename: Takahito
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Moriyama
authors.forename: Syunji
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Shiohira
authors.forename: Ari
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Shimizu
authors.forename: Yuki
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Tsuruta
authors.forename: Keiko
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Uchida
authors.forename: Kosaku
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Nitta
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007668:Kidney / Q000098:blood supply*; D008297:Male; D055953:Microscopic Polyangiitis / Q000473:pathology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D014657:Vasculitis / Q000473:pathology*