ASSESSMENT OF DISEASE-ACTIVITY IN SYSTEMIC VASCULITIS

The systemic vasculitides are a group of inflammatory disorders charac terised by relapses and remission. Before the introduction of immunosu ppressive drugs, mortality was unacceptably high. Immunosuppressive th erapy has had a therapeutic impact, but at the cost of increased risk of infection and other adverse effects. Differentiating infection from active disease can be difficult, and the inappropriate prescription o f immunosuppressive drugs can be fatal. Hence disease indices which ca n aid physicians to identify the active phase of disease and enable ea rly treatment, will be valuable in the management of this group of dis orders.