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Muscular vasculitis confined to lower limbs: description of two case reports and a review of the literature

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Abstract

Muscular involvement is common during systemic vasculitides, such as polyarteritis nodosa. However, in rare cases, muscular involvement can be the only clinically evident feature of the disease. The clinical pattern of isolated muscular vasculitis may mimic several other inflammatory muscle disorders, such as idiopathic inflammatory myositis, and may represent a challenge in differential diagnosis. Herewith, we present two clinical cases as examples of peculiar clinical and histopathological characteristics of isolated muscular vasculitis. Our patients were successfully treated with steroids and immunosuppressive agents. Moreover, we provide a review of the recent existing medical literature. Our cases suggest the importance of performing muscle biopsy in patients with muscular symptoms to guide the diagnosis and the treatment.

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Correspondence to Simone Barsotti.

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All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki Declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

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Tripoli, A., Barsotti, S., Pollina, L.E. et al. Muscular vasculitis confined to lower limbs: description of two case reports and a review of the literature. Rheumatol Int 37, 2115–2121 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00296-017-3841-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00296-017-3841-z

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