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Necrotizing vasculitis in a patient affected by autoimmune hyperthyroidism treated with propylthiouracil
Author(s) -
Antonucci Angela,
Bardazzi Federico,
Iozzo Ivano,
Patrizi Annalisa
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
dermatologic therapy
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.595
H-Index - 68
eISSN - 1529-8019
pISSN - 1396-0296
DOI - 10.1111/j.1529-8019.2010.01299.x
Subject(s) - medicine , propylthiouracil , vasculitis , anti neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody , antibody , necrotizing vasculitis , graves' disease , autoantibody , pathology , immunology , disease , thyroid
Necrotizing vasculitis is a complex phenomenon because of an inflammation of small and larger vessels with polymorph infiltration within the vessel walls and leukocytoclasis, occurring in several autoimmune diseases. Propylthiouracil (PTU) is a medication commonly used to treat hyperthyroidism, but it is associated with various rare side effects, such as antineutrophil cytoplasm antibody‐positive vasculitis. In the last decades, multiple cases of PTU causing antineutrophilic cytoplasmic antibody have been reported, some of them fatal. The present authors report the case of a 34‐year‐old Caucasian female affected by autoimmune hyperthyroidism treated with PTU, presenting an antineutrophil cytoplasm antibody‐positive necrotizing vasculitis, with high levels of anticardiolipin antibodies that involved the upper arms and buttocks. The clinical manifestations improved after discontinuing of PTU and immunosuppressant treatment.