The wide clinical spectrum of polyarteritis nodosa with cutaneous involvement*

Abstract

Summary In order to assess the extent of systemic disease which may accompany polyarteritis nodosa when it involves the skin, fourteen cases of polyarteritis nodosa have been reviewed in whom there was histologically proven cutaneous involvement. It is concluded that a sub‐group of polyarteritis nodosa (in which the disease remains limited to the skin, muscles and peripheral nerves) can not necessarily be identified; however, predominant cutaneous involvement suggests a good prognosis.

Azathioprine in dermatology: The past, the present, and the future

“…152 Other uses Azathioprine has been reported to be successful not only in immunobullous, photodermatotic, and eczematous diseases but also in a number of other severe or recalcitrant conditions. As shown in Table V, azathioprine has been used to treat Behçet syndrome, 153,154 pityriasis rubra pilaris, 155 erythema multiforme, [156][157][158] lichen planus, [159][160][161] vasculitis, [162][163][164][165][166][167] cutaneous lupus, 163,[168][169][170] Reiter syndrome, 171 graftversus-host disease, 172,173 prurigo nodularis, 174 Sulzberger and Garbe, 175 and acne fulminans. 176 The evidence for Behçet syndrome is encouraging, and early treatment with azathioprine has been shown to favorably affect the long-term prognosis of the disease.…”

Cutaneous polyarteritis nodosa: a comprehensive review

“…A relationship between CPAN and hepatitis B infection (four out of nine patients) has been demonstrated 20 . Although hepatitis B routinely causes systemic PAN, the correlation between CPAN and the virus is not consistently seen 9,21–23 . Others have found a relationship to inflammatory bowel disease 9,24–28 .…”

Angiogenic cytokines in serum and cutaneous lesions of patients with polyarteritis nodosa

“…6,7 There is a form of PAN that is restricted to the skin (cutaneous PAN), which shows a chronic relapsing benign course. [8][9][10] Moreover, a role for hepatitis C virus (HCV) in both subtypes of PAN has been detected. 11,12 The diagnosis is often problematic because the skin manifestations and their histologic findings in systemic and cutaneous PAN are identical.…”