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Polyarteritis nodosa

Last reviewed: 17 Aug 2025
Last updated: 13 Feb 2024

Summary

Definition

History and exam

Key diagnostic factors

  • age 40 to 60 years
  • fever
  • weight loss
  • myalgia or arthralgia
  • mononeuritis multiplex
  • paresthesia
  • muscle tenderness
  • abdominal pain
  • skin manifestations
  • diastolic blood pressure >90 mmHg
  • history of blood transfusion predating introduction of routine HBV screening
  • previous or current intravenous drug abuse
  • recent hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection
  • testicular pain
Full details

Other diagnostic factors

  • male sex
  • hairy cell leukemia
  • seizure
  • upper motor neuron weakness
  • gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding
  • peritonitis
  • monocular blindness
  • chest pain
  • congestive cardiac failure
  • tender breast lumps
Full details

Risk factors

  • hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection
  • age 40 to 60 years
  • hairy cell leukemia
  • history of blood transfusion predating introduction of routine HBV screening
  • hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection
  • male sex
Full details

Diagnostic investigations

1st investigations to order

  • CRP
  • erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR)
  • CBC
  • complement
  • serum creatinine
  • midstream urine analysis
  • liver function tests
  • hepatitis B virus (HBV) serology
  • hepatitis C virus (HCV) serology
  • cryoglobulins
  • blood culture
  • creatine kinase
  • antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies (ANCA)
  • antinuclear antibodies (ANA)
  • anti-double-stranded DNA antibodies (anti-dsDNA)
  • rheumatoid factor
  • antibodies to cyclic citrullinated peptides (anti-CCP antibodies)
  • lupus anticoagulant
  • immunoglobulin G antiphospholipid antibodies
  • B2 glycoprotein
  • fibrinogen
  • conventional digital subtraction angiography
  • echocardiography
Full details

Investigations to consider

  • MR angiography (MRA)
  • CT angiography
  • biopsy of affected tissue
  • HIV serology
  • genetic test for adenosine deaminase 2 (ADA2) deficiency
Full details

Treatment algorithm

ACUTE

non HBV-related PAN

HBV-related PAN

ONGOING

relapse of disease

Contributors

Authors

Ravi Suppiah, MBChB, PGDipSportMed, MD, FRACP

Consultant Rheumatologist

Auckland and Counties Manukau District Health Boards

Auckland

New Zealand

Disclosures

RS declares that he has no competing interests.

Joanna Robson, MBBS, PhD, MRCP

Rheumatology Registrar

Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre

Oxford

UK

Disclosures

JR declares that she has no competing interests.

Raashid Luqmani, DM, FRCP, FRCP(E)

Professor of Rheumatology

NIHR Musculoskeletal Biomedical Research Unit

Nuffield Department of Orthopaedics, Rheumatology and Musculoskeletal Science

University of Oxford

Oxford

UK

Disclosures

RL is an author of a number of references cited in this topic.

Acknowledgements

Dr Ravi Suppiah, Dr Joanna Robson and Dr Raashid Luqmani would like to gratefully acknowledge Dr Loic Guillevin, the previous contributor to this topic. LG is an author of a number of references cited in this topic.

Peer reviewers

Alan Bridges, MD

Professor and Vice Chair

Department of Medicine

University of Wisconsin Hospital

Madison

WI

Disclosures

AB declares that he has no competing interests.

Richard Watts, MA, DM, FRCP

Consultant Rheumatologist

Ipswich Hospital

Ipswich

UK

Divulgaciones

RW has received fees for consulting from Roche Pharmaceuticals, manufacturer of rituximab. His department has received financial support from Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, manufacturer of etanercept, and from Schering-Plough, manufacturer of infliximab. RW is an author of a number of references cited in this topic.

Ellen C. Ebert, MD

Professor of Medicine

Department of Medicine

UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School

New Brunswick

NJ

Divulgaciones

ECE declares that she has no competing interests.

Peer reviewer acknowledgements

BMJ Best Practice topics are updated on a rolling basis in line with developments in evidence and guidance. The peer reviewers listed here have reviewed the content at least once during the history of the topic.

Disclosures

Peer reviewer affiliations and disclosures pertain to the time of the review.

Referencias

Nuestros equipos internos de evidencia y editoriales colaboran con colaboradores expertos internacionales y revisores pares para garantizar que brindemos acceso a la información más clínicamente relevante posible.

Artículos principales

Masi AT, Hunder GG, Lie JT, et al. The American College of Rheumatology 1990 criteria for the classification of Churg-Strauss syndrome (allergic granulomatosis and angiitis). Arthritis Rheum. 1990;33:1094-1100. Resumen

Mahr A, Guillevin L, Poissonnet M, et al. Prevalences of polyarteritis nodosa, microscopic polyangiitis, Wegener's granulomatosis, and Churg-Strauss syndrome in a French urban multiethnic population in 2000: a capture-recapture estimate. Arthritis Rheum. 2004;51:92-99. Resumen

Colmegna I, Maldonado-Cocco JA. Polyarteritis nodosa revisited. Curr Rheumatol Rep. 2005;7:288-296. Resumen

Mukhtyar C, Guillevin L, Cid MC, et al. EULAR recommendations for the management of primary small and medium vessel vasculitis. Ann Rheum Dis. 2009 Mar;68(3):310-7Texto completo  Resumen

Ntatsaki E, Carruthers D, Chakravarty K, et al; BSR and BHPR Standards, Guidelines and Audit Working Group. BSR and BHPR guideline for the management of adults with ANCA-associated vasculitis. Rheumatology (Oxford). 2014 Dec;53(12):2306-9.Texto completo  Resumen

Jayne D, Rasmussen N, Andrassy K, et al. A randomized trial of maintenance therapy for vasculitis associated with antineutrophil cytoplasmic autoantibodies. N Engl J Med. 2003 Jul 3;349(1):36-44.Texto completo  Resumen

De Groot K, Rasmussen N, Bacon PA, et al. Randomized trial of cyclophosphamide versus methotrexate for induction of remission in early systemic antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody-associated vasculitis. Arthritis Rheum. 2005 Aug;52(8):2461-9.Texto completo  Resumen

Artículos de referencia

Una lista completa de las fuentes a las que se hace referencia en este tema está disponible para los usuarios con acceso a todo BMJ Best Practice.
  • Polyarteritis nodosa images
  • Differentials

    • Granulomatosis with polyangiitis (formerly known as Wegener granulomatosis)
    • Microscopic polyangiitis
    • Churg-Strauss syndrome
    More Differentials
  • Guidelines

    • Guideline for vaccinations in patients with rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases
    • BSR and BHPR guidelines for the management of adults with ANCA-associated vasculitis
    More Guidelines
  • Patient information

    Pneumonia: do I need a vaccine?

    More Patient information
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