Polyarteritis nodosa and mixed cryoglobulinaemia related to hepatitis B and C virus coinfection. (Concise Reports).

Abstract

Objective--To determine the responsibility of hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) and therapeutic implications in a patient who developed systemic vasculitis.

Case report--The case of a 38 year old woman who had a past history of addiction to intravenous drugs and developed systemic vasculitis after infection by HBV and HCV is described. The clinical and laboratory findings substantiated not only the diagnosis of polyarteritis nodosa (PAN) but also that of mixed cryoglobulinaemia with a monoclonal IgM[kappa] component.

Conclusion--Because cryoglobulins are rarely found in HBV related PAN but often associated with HCV infection, and in light of the histological findings, cryoglobulinaemia was interpreted as being secondary to HCV infection. This example of a highly complex situation emphasises the need to gather all relevant clinical, biological, histological, and complementary data so that the best treatment for overlapping of distinct vasculitides can be selected.

(Ann Rheum Dis 2001;60:1068-1069)

The relation between viruses and vasculitis is now well established: hepatitis B virus (HBV) is considered to be responsible for a minority of cases of polyarteritis nodosa (PAN), (1 2) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) for more than 80% of mixed cryoglobulinaemias (MC). (3) Because of similar risk factors and routes of infection, several viruses can be acquired simultaneously and cause different diseases, and the optimal therapeutic strategy must be carefully considered.

Herein we describe a patient who …