Leukocytoclastic Vasculitis

Leukocytoclastic Vasculitis General Information

This medical condition (Leukocytoclastic Vasculitis) is also commonly known under the abbreviation LCV. This term defines the presence of a vasculitis that affects the body’s small vessels. Although the presence of this medical condition can be triggered by a variety of causes, the underlying medical disorder that has lead to the development of LCV is not discovered in about half of all patients who are diagnosed with this medical condition. This clinical condition can affect the patient’s skin or a certain organ of the human body. The most common internal organs that are widely affected by the presence of this disorder (Leukocytoclastic Vasculitis) include the kidneys, the gastro-intestinal tract, the joints, and so on. The disease’s prognosis is better if the medical condition is located on the patient’s skin, without affecting any internal organs.

A patient may experience the chronic or the acute form of this medical condition. The chronic form of LCV that affects the patient’s skin should be treated with non-toxic therapy options. The intake of immuno-suppressive agents, corticoids, and so on, should be avoided. This medical condition is not very common. Every year, 10-30 patients in one million individuals are diagnosed with the presence of this clinical disorder. If LCV has affected the patient’s kidneys, heart, lungs, central nervous system or any other internal organs, the patient has higher risks of experiencing the most severe symptoms (complications) of this medical condition (lethal effects are possible). White population is much more prone than other races to experience this medical condition. Female patients and male patients are equally affected by this medical condition. This medical disorder may be developed by the individual at any age. In the case of children, this disorder is also commonly known as Henoch-Schönlein purpura.

Leukocytoclastic Vasculitis Symptoms

Individuals who are suffering from the cutaneous form of this medical disorder (Leukocytoclastic Vasculitis) are known to be prone to experiencing unpleasant symptoms such as pain, burning, itching, stinging, and so on. The presence of asymptomatic lesions is very common, too. In such cases, the patient’s vasculitis may manifest only as an eruption. In other studied clinical cases, the patient’s disorder developed in a tight conjunction along with para-proteinemia, collagen vascular medical conditions, malignancy, parenteral or oral medicines, and so on. The most widely spread clinical manifestations of this medical disorder (Leukocytoclastic Vasculitis) is the presence of palpable purpura. The skin lesions are known to have a round shape. Their diameter is about 1-3 mm. Some of them form plaques through coalescence. In some sever clinical cases, they even ulcerate. Although these lesions are generally located on the patient’s legs, they can be observed on any other body part as well. Some patients develop urticarial lesions, which predate the purpuric ones. The urticarial lesions that are triggered by LCV last longer than those that are caused by a regular form of urticaria. After healing, they generally leave marks – residual hyper-pigmentation. In such cases, patients have complained about severe burning.

Individuals who are suffering from the hypocomplementemic form of the urticarial vasculitis can experience one of the most severe complications of this medical disorder: chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Livedo reticularis is a very uncommon clinical manifestation of LCV (Leukocytoclastic Vasculitis) that affects the patient’s small vessels. This condition is known to be more common in the case of individuals who are suffering from inflammatory and / or occlusive disorders that affect their medium vessels.

Leukocytoclastic Vasculitis Treatment

After a professional health care provider has agreed that the patient is suffering from LCV (Leukocytoclastic Vasculitis), the individual will start a therapy against his or her medical condition, with the use of specific or non-specific therapy options. It is a known fact that the presence of this medical disorder affects dependent areas. Some patients were granted some ease of their symptoms by using compression stockings, by maintaining their legs in an elevated position, and so on. In the clinical cases in which the analyses and medical tests have revealed the true cause of this medical condition, the patient should follow a therapy against that particular cause. If the presence of this clinical condition was the intake of a certain medicine, discontinuing the therapy with that particular medical product should provide the patient great ease in about 14 days (2 weeks). The therapy with Dapsone and / or Colchicine is recommended in the case of patients who are suffering from skin lesions that are due to this medical condition. Treatment trials with antihistamines (less sedating medical products but also soporific clinical products) are also recommended. In some cases, a combination of antihistamines is required. If none of these therapies have proven useful, the therapy with certain NSAIDs (an abbreviation that stands for nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory agents) may be employed.

In the case of individuals who present a severe form of surgical involvement may need to start the intake of extremely high doses of medicines that belong to the class of corticosteroids (among them, the most commonly used products include: Azathioprine, Methotrexate, Cyclophosphamide, and so on). This therapy option may or may not require an adjacent intake of immuno-suppressant medicines. The presence of a chronic cutaneous form of Leukocytoclastic Vasculitis may have to start a restrictive diet until the true cause of this medical condition is discovered. Individuals who present a debilitating or an extremely severe form of this medical disorder may need to be treated with biologic medicines like an intravenous (IV) form of immune-globulin, Rituximab, and so on.

Surgical care is not very common among patients who have been diagnosed with the presence of Leukocytoclastic Vasculitis. However, undergoing a surgical procedure becomes a viable option when the cause of this medical condition is thought to be the presence of a tumor. Other surgical procedures that may be required are those with the help of which the physician can extract a sample of a certain tissue from the patient’s organism (organ biopsies). In order to make sure that you have done everything you could have to deal with your clinical condition (Leukocytoclastic Vasculitis) you should consult at least some of the following specialists: a pulmonologist, an allergist, an immunologist, a hepatologist, a gastro-enterologist, a nephrologists, a dermatologist, a rheumatologist, and so on.