Occasionally a patient may have a condition that mimics a systemic vasculitis. These need to be considered since the management and long-term prognosis may differ significantly.
Conditions that may present with a clinical syndrome mimicing vasculitis:
(1) atrial myxoma
(2) septicemia
(3) chronic microthromboembolism
(4) infective endocarditis (both septic and microthrombemboli)
(5) rejection after organ transplantation
(6) drug or chemical related (ergotism, cocaine, etc)
Clinical features that may be similar to systemic vasculitis:
(1) constitutional symptoms (fever, fatigue, etc)
(2) microinfarcts
(3) changes on arteriography (stenoses, occlusions, aneurysms)
Diagnostic problems:
(1) sepsis following immunosuppression for an underlying vasculitis
(2) organ transplantation for end-stage renal damage secondary to vasculitis
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