The term vasculitis refers to a pathologic condition defined by inflammatory cell infiltration and destruction of blood vessels.
Systemic vasculitis is classified as primary (eg, polyarteritis nodosa, Churg-Strauss syndrome) or secondary, the latter associated
with connective tissue disorders, infections, medications, and rarely, as a paraneoplastic phenomenon. Neuropathy is a common
complication of systemic vasculitis and is related to ischemic nerve fiber damage with axon loss. Peripheral neuropathy may
be the sole manifestation of vasculitis, a condition termed nonsystemic vasculitic neuropathy (NSVN). Treatment of vasculitic
neuropathy requires long-term immunosuppressive therapies with potential side effects. The diagnosis of vasculitis should
be established by tissue (preferably nerve) biopsy. High-dose prednisone is the standard platform therapy for patients with
systemic and NSVN; for those with systemic vasculitis, at least 3 to 12 months of treatment with cyclophosphamide (monthly
intravenous pulse or daily oral therapy) is also necessary to sustain remission and allow successful prednisone tapering.
The use of cyclophosphamide in patients with NSVN is controversial, but recent retrospective data suggest that those treated
with prednisone and cyclophosphamide from the outset fare better than those initially treated only with prednisone. If prednisone
is administered as monotherapy, cyclophosphamide should be added after several months if there is no improvement or relapse
occurs with tapering of prednisone. Intravenous pulse and daily oral cyclophosphamide probably offer similar efficacy, although
the risk of complications is greater with oral therapy. Azathioprine can be safely substituted for cyclophosphamide after
3 months without an increased relapse rate. Azathioprine, methotrexate, intravenous immune globulin, mycophenolate mofetil,
plasma exchange, and rituximab can be offered to patients who are intolerant or have a contraindication to cyclophosphamide.
However, efficacy is unproven for any of these therapies. Interferon-α, sometimes combined with plasma exchange, is used to
treat vasculitis associated with hepatitis B infection. Some patients also may improve with corticosteroids. The classification
of diabetic lumbosacral radiculoplexus neuropathy as a vasculitic disorder remains controversial. However, there is compelling
pathological evidence that this condition represents a T-cell-mediated microvasculitis. Some patients treated with intravenous
corticosteroids may have greater recovery and improved pain control.