Infections in Vasculitis: Can We Create an Epidemic of Change?

Abstract

In the article entitled "Prevalence, Predictors, and Prognosis of Serious Infections in Takayasu Arteritis: A Cohort Study" by Misra and colleagues in this issue ofThe Journal of Rheumatology, the authors examine the incidence of serious infections in a Takayasu arteritis (TA) patient cohort; analyze associated demographic, clinical, angiographic, and treatment-related factors; and evaluate their impact on serious infections and mortality in TA.1They found that serious infections in patients with TA were prevalent, occurring in one-sixth of their cohort, with pneumonia (38%) and tuberculosis (TB; 24%) as the most common infections identified.1