Background: Cutaneous polyarteritis nodosa (PAN) is a rare form of vasculitis relating to small-to-medium-sizedarteries, it frequently causes impairment and presents a therapeutic challenge. Nevertheless, it remains anunderstudied disease and only a few clinical studies on cutaneous PAN with small number of patients have beenconducted in Korea so far.
Objective: The aim of this study is to obtain a better understanding of the clinical and histopathological features forcutaneous PAN.
Methods: This was a retrospective study of cutaneous PAN observed at our center over an 12-year period. Clinicalmanifestations and histopathological features of 24 patients with cutaneous PAN were being evaluated.
Results: The ratio of males to females was 1 : 2.42 and the most frequently occurred age group was the third decade. The most commonly involved sites were the lower legs (100%), thighs (37.5%), arms (12.5%) and trunks (8.3%).
The most common clinical findings were painful nodules, as seen in 62.5% (reticular erythema in 25%, scatterederythematous patches in 25%, and ecchymotic patches in 4.2%). Erythrocyte sedimentation rates are elevated in61.9% of 21 patients. Histopathologically, the fibrinoid necrotizing vasculitis of small arteries in the deep dermis andpanniculus were observed and the arteries were being classified into 4 stages: the acute stage (3.6%), subacute stage(57.2%), reparative stage (32.1%), and healed stage (7.1%). The most commonly treatment modality was systemiccorticosteroids (62.5%). The clinical course was the chronically relapses and our study showed that the cutaneousPAN does not progress to the systemic PAN.
Conclusion: This study suggested that the cutaneous PAN has a variable course, with repeated exacerbations, butdoes not progress to the systemic PAN. And no definitively effective therapy for cutaneous PAN has been established,additional prospective studies are necessary in order to determine the effectiveness of the various treatmentmodalities.
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