Kenneth Warrington, MD: Identifying ANCA-Associated Vasculitis

As part of HCPLive’s® State of the Science series, Kenneth Warrington, MD, Chair, Division of Rheumatology, Department of Internal Medicine, Mayo Clinic, led a discussion about the burden of ANCA-associated vasculitis with Tanaz Kermani, MD, MS, Division of Rheumatology, UCLA, and Matthew Koster, MD, Mayo Clinic Rheumatology.

In this interview, Warrington shared the motivation that led him to this field. He also differentiated how to identify a case of ANCA-associated vasculitis compared with a common condition like sinusiti, with the main difference being symptom persistence.

"So, one of the hallmarks of vasculitis is that patients might have sinus inflammation, lung inflammation, kidney inflammation, skin inflammation, joint inflammation, all going on at the same time," Warrington explained.

Basic laboratory studies of inflammation markers would also indicate high markers of inflammation in patients with vasculitis. Warrington said this is a sign that providers should refer to a specialist.

"If the patient has multiple organ systems that are being affected concurrently," he said, "that should clue them in that vasculitis might be something to think about."