Vasculitis in children

The term vasculitis refers to inflammation in the blood vessel walls. The vasculitic conditions which affect children are a varied group of diseases many of which carry a potentially significant morbidity and mortality. This review describes the classification, diagnosis and management of the main primary systemic paediatric vasculitides. The conditions described include Henoch-Schönlein purpura, Kawasaki disease, Takayasu's arteritis, polyarteritis nodosa, and the ANCA associated vasculitic (AAV) conditions Wegener's granulomatosis, microscopic polyangiitis and Churg-Strauss syndrome.