Gastro-intestinale chirurgie en gastro-enterologie. XIV. Mesenteriale afwijkingen bij gegeneraliseerde vaatziekten

- Various forms of vasculitis may result in mesenteric ischaemia, ischaemic colitis or aneurysm formation in the aorta or intestinal blood vessels.

- Vasculitides may involve large- and/or medium-sized vessels, medium- and/or small-sized vessels, or small-sized vessels only. It is essential to differentiate between the different forms of vasculitis since diagnostic tests and therapies differ greatly.

- Gastrointestinal manifestations of vasculitis can generally be detected using angiography, digital subtraction angiography and/or magnetic resonance angiography (MRA).

- Various laboratory tests are helpful in establishing the diagnosis in patients in whom vasculitis is clinically suspected. In addition, the diagnosis should be confirmed using histology or angiography if possible.

- Treatment of vasculitis not caused by chronic infection consists of high dose corticosteroids and, in the case of polyarteritis nodosa or vasculitis associated with anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies (ANCA), cyclophosphamide.