title: Vasculitis and inflammatory arthritis.
abstract: Vasculitis has been described in most types of inflammatory arthritis. The best described and most widely recognised form is rheumatoid vasculitis. The incidence of systemic rheumatoid vasculitis has declined significantly following the general early use of methotrexate in the 1990s, and it is now a rare form of vasculitis. Treatment of rheumatoid vasculitis is conventionally with glucocorticoids and cyclophosphamide, but there is an increasing role for rituximab similar to that in other types of vasculitis. Despite these developments the mortality of rheumatoid vasculitis remains high. Vasculitis in other types of inflammatory arthritis is less well described and the treatment remains empirical.
authors.affiliation: Norwich Medical School, University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK; Ipswich Hospital NHS Trust, Ipswich, UK. Electronic address: richard.watts2@icloud.com.
authors.forename: Richard A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Watts
authors.affiliation: Norwich Medical School, University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK.
authors.forename: David G I
authors.initials: DG
authors.lastname: Scott
mesh_terms: D018501:Antirheumatic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001172:Arthritis, Rheumatoid / Q000150:complications / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000473:pathology*; D003520:Cyclophosphamide / Q000627:therapeutic use; D005938:Glucocorticoids / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008727:Methotrexate / Q000627:therapeutic use; D000069283:Rituximab / Q000627:therapeutic use; D014657:Vasculitis / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology*
chemical_list: D018501:Antirheumatic Agents; D005938:Glucocorticoids; D000069283:Rituximab; D003520:Cyclophosphamide; D008727:Methotrexate
keywords: Ankylosing spondylitis; Psoriatic arthritis; Rheumatoid arthritis; Vasculitis