Association of Pediatric Vasculitis Activity Score with immunoglobulin A vasculitis with nephritis

Immunoglobulin a vasculitis with central nervous system involvement: analysis of 10 cases

Immunoglobulin A vasculitis (IgAV) is a systemic inflammatory disease that affects small blood vessels. Central nervous system (CNS) involvement in IgAV is rare. This study analyzed the clinical characteristics of IgAV patients combined with CNS damage in children. Furthermore, the study made a comparison between the characteristics of IgAV patients with and without CNS damage, and initially explored the potential predictors for IgAV patients with CNS damage. A retrospective analysis was conducted on a cohort of 50 children diagnosed with IgAV and admitted to Beijing Children's Hospital from 2016 to 2019. The study encompassed a review of the clinical presentations, laboratory test results, imaging findings, therapeutic interventions, and prognoses of 10 children with IgAV who exhibited CNS involvement. These 10 cases were then compared with a group of 40 children with IgAV without CNS involvement. The prevalence of IgAV with CNS manifestations was 0.2%. The median age was 11.6 years, with a male-to-female ratio of 7:3. All CNS symptoms appeared after the purpuric rash. The mean period from IgAV onset to the development of neurological symptoms was 12.2 days (range: 1-27 days). Seizures were the most common neurological manifestation, with impaired consciousness and predominant convulsions. Other symptoms included headache, visual impairment, dysarthria, dyskinesia, and emotional irritation. The main abnormalities found on brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) were unilateral or bilateral abnormal focal signals, cortical and subcortical white matter edema, and thrombosis of the venous sinus. Glucocorticoid therapy and intravenous immunoglobulins were used to treat CNS damage caused by IgAV. All patients showed clinical improvement without recurrent neurological symptoms or sequelae. Statistically differences were identified in in terms of age, gastrointestinal damage, WBC count, NLR, ALB, C3 levels, and the CD4/CD8 ratio in IgAV patients with CNS damage when compared to those without CNS damage. Multivariable logistic regression analysis shows that age, NLR and C3 Levels are predictors of IgAV with CNS damage. CNS involvement in IgAV is a rare complication. Its clinical manifestations are diverse and vary in severity, and its diagnosis is exclusionary. Brain MRI is beneficial for diagnosis and follow-up. Steroid therapy is important for treating IgAV-associated CNS involvement. Age, NLR and C3 Levels are predictors of IgAV with CNS damage.

Characteristics of scrotal involvement in IgA vasculitis: Relationship with disease activity and inflammatory markers

Immunoglobulin A (IgA) vasculitis is a common systemic vasculitis in children, involving the skin, joint, gastrointestinal tract and kidneys. Scrotal involvement is a less common manifestation in the course of IgA vasculitis, which alters disease management. The purpose of this study was to present the characteristics of patients with IgA vasculitis with scrotal involvement and to compare patients with and without scrotal involvement. We also aimed to investigate the relationship between scrotal involvement and disease activity and inflammatory markers. This medical record review study was conducted in 234 male patients under the age of 18 years who were diagnosed with IgA vasculitis and followed for at least 6 months in the Pediatric Rheumatology Clinic. Demographic characteristics, clinical findings, laboratory findings, and pediatric vasculitis activity score (PVAS) of IgA vasculitis patients were recorded. CRP to albumin ratio (CAR), platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) and neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) were calculated using the patients' complete blood count parameters and C reactive protein (CRP) levels. Two hundred thirty four male patients with IgA vasculitis were included in the study. Scrotum involvement was detected in 34 (14.5%) of patients. The mean age at diagnosis of 34 patients with scrotal involvement was 7.37 (4.41-8.43) years. Of the 34 patients, 15 had scrotal pain, swelling and rash, 12 had scrotal pain and swelling, and 2 had only scrotal swelling. Two (5.9%) patients had penile involvement with scrotal involvement. Patients were divided into two groups as those with scrotal involvement (n = 34, 10.2%) and those without (n = 200, 89.8%). Local edema, widespread skin involvement, hematuria, penile involvement, PVAS and CAR were significantly higher in IgA patients with scrotal involvement than in those without (p < 0.001, p < 0.001, p = 0.019, p = 0.001, p < 0.001, and p = 0.004, respectively).

CONCLUSION

Widespread purpura, local edema, penile involvement and hematuria are more common in patients with scrotal involvement than those without. PVAS and some systemic inflammatory markers such as CAR may be helpful in predicting scrotal involvement.

WHAT IS KNOWN

• IgA vasculitis is the most common type of vasculitis in childhood and scrotal involvement is very rare during the course of the disease. • PVAS is a scoring system used to measure the severity of childhood vasculitis.

WHAT IS NEW

• PVAS might be promising surrogate tool for predicting scrotal involvement in patients with IgA vasculitis.