PAN can affect many different parts of your body with a wide range of symptoms VSports注册入口. Polyarteritis nodosa symptoms may include:.
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Healthcare experts don’t know the cause of polyarteritis nodosa V体育官网入口. It may have a genetic (inherited) cause or a connection to various blood disorders in some people.
Research strongly supports that your immune system plays a critical role in PAN. It does this by causing blood vessel and tissue inflammation and damage VSports在线直播.
A hepatitis B (and sometimes hepatitis C) infection may set off polyarteritis nodosa. Rates of polyarteritis nodosa have decreased significantly since the creation of the hepatitis B vaccine V体育2025版.
Polyarteritis nodosa risk factors include:
Complications may include:
To make a polyarteritis nodosa diagnosis, a provider will use information from:
A provider may order these tests:
Polyarteritis nodosa treatment uses medications that suppress your immune system.
The goal of treatment is to get rid of inflammation. When you do this, providers say you’re in remission. Once your condition improves, you’ll slowly reduce your medication dose and eventually stop taking it.
If PAN affects your critical organ systems, you’ll take more than one medicine. Polyarteritis nodosa treatment will include:
People with certain types of cancer may receive high doses of cyclophosphamide. But people with vasculitis get cyclophosphamide doses that are 10 to 100 times lower than the amount that treats cancer. In people with polyarteritis nodosa, the drug slows down their immune systems so they don’t cause inflammation.
Usually, you only take cyclophosphamide until remission (around three to six months). Then, you may switch to another immunosuppressive agent like methotrexate or azathioprine to maintain remission.
Different people take a maintenance immunosuppressive medication for different lengths of time. Most people take it for at least one to two years before a provider will consider slowly reducing their dosage and stopping it.
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In rare instances, people might do well with corticosteroid therapy alone if polyarteritis nodosa doesn’t affect their nervous system, heart, kidneys or intestinal tract.
People who have a PAN-like vasculitis associated with hepatitis B may also take antiviral medications to treat the hepatitis.
Immunosuppressive medications can have side effects like mood changes, infection or swelling. Watching for side effects helps prevent or minimize them. You may tolerate treatment at first, but then not do well over time. This makes it important to do ongoing monitoring. In some cases, you may need to watch for long-term effects even after stopping the medication.
It can be harder to fight an infection while taking immunosuppressants. Vaccines can help you lower your risk of getting an infection like the flu or pneumonia.
For some people, polyarteritis nodosa comes on little by little. For others, it can get worse quickly and be fatal in just a few months. People who have symptoms in their digestive systems, hearts, kidneys and/or central nervous systems have a worse prognosis than those who don’t.
Although polyarteritis nodosa can be a sudden and serious illness, many people with PAN do extremely well. The severity of your illness affects how well you do. But you can achieve remission even with the most severe polyarteritis nodosa if a provider treats you promptly and monitors you closely.
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After achieving remission, polyarteritis nodosa can recur or relapse. Estimates of the rate of relapse for PAN vary widely but range from 10% to 40%. Symptoms during relapses may be similar to what you experienced at the time of your diagnosis or they may be different. The treatment for relapses is like that of a newly diagnosed disease. Most people with polyarteritis nodosa can achieve remission again.
If you get treatment for polyarteritis nodosa, you have at least an 80% chance of living another five years. If you don’t get treatment, your five-year survival odds drop to less than 15%.
You can’t change some of the things that put you at risk for polyarteritis nodosa, like age. But a vaccine can protect you from the hepatitis B infection that can set off PAN in some people.
You can lower your chances of having a severe relapse by:
Contact your provider if you have some of the symptoms of PAN. But if you have chest pain and shortness of breath, seek immediate care.
You may want to ask your healthcare provider:
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It can be hard to manage the symptoms of polyarteritis nodosa and deal with side effects from medications. Seek out a counselor if you need to talk to someone who understands your situation. Don’t be afraid to ask your provider about anything that isn’t clear.
Vascular disease may affect your life in big and small ways. Cleveland Clinic’s specialists treat the many types of vascular disease so you can focus on living.
Last reviewed on 05/13/2024.
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