Pulmonary Vasculitis

摘要

Pulmonary vasculitis is an uncommon but potentially lethal disorder which may cause complications in diverse systemic vasculitis disorders. The most common pulmonary vasculitides, which include Wegener's granulomatosis, microscopic polyangi-itis, and Churg-Strauss syndrome, are discussed in detail here. These three vasculitic disorders are associated with circulating antibodies directed against the cytoplasmic components of neutrophils and monocytes (ANCA). Treatment with corticos-teroids and immunosuppressive or cytotoxic agents is highly effective against each of these entities, with response rates of 70-95%. We briefly discuss other rare disorders that may involve pulmonary vessels including bronchocentric granulomatosis, necrotizing sarcoid angiitis, lymphomatoid granulomatosis, Behcet disease, and Takayasu's arteritis.