VIDEO: Provider, patient education equally critical for vasculitis management

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So again, vasculitis is a rare condition that can affect the young and the elderly. And when it affects the kidney, it's often asymptomatic, which makes it very challenging to diagnose. So provider education is very important so that these diseases can be diagnosed earlier and urinalysis can be done earlier in the disease course.

So, when a primary care doctor or a rheumatologist sees these classic features of hematuria and proteinuria in the urine, early referral to nephrology is key. And a kidney biopsy should be strongly considered to obtain a definitive diagnosis and prognosis.

I’ve done kidney biopsies on patients that have been asymptomatic but showed some urinary findings and found that they were already showing signs of chronic disease, suggesting that they had had vasculitis for years.

We want to continue to bring awareness regarding diagnosing this disease. And when patients have ANCA-associated vasculitis, again, many different organ systems can be affected. And so, I do still think it’s important for a patient to have education on what their disease is and what disease organs can be affected.