Cookies on this website

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you click 'Accept all cookies' we'll assume that you are happy to receive all cookies and you won't see this message again. If you click 'Reject all non-essential cookies' only necessary cookies providing core functionality such as security, network management, and accessibility will be enabled. Click 'Find out more' for information on how to change your cookie settings.

The complexity of assessing disease activity, disease status, and damage in the vasculitides reflects the multisystemic pathologic manifestations of these often chronic illnesses. Major progress has been made in the past decade in the development of validated and widely accepted outcome measures for use in clinical trials. Over time, these tools have been regularly revised, expanded, and supplemented with new measures of disease prognosis and damage. As a result clinical research in this area has become increasingly complex. This article critically reviews the current status of tools for assessing disease activity and damage in "ANCA-associated" vasculitides (Wegener's granulomatosis and microscopic polyangiitis), summarizes the current level of validation of each measure, addresses central problems and controversies to be considered during development of new vasculitis assessment tools, and proposes a series of research agendas for consideration by the vasculitis research community.

Type

Journal article

Journal

The Journal of rheumatology

Publication Date

12/2005

Volume

32

Pages

2488 - 2495

Addresses

Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA 02118, USA. pmerkel@bu.edu

Keywords

Vasculitis Clinical Research Consortium, OMERACT 7 Special Interest Group, Humans, Peripheral Vascular Diseases, Vasculitis, Severity of Illness Index, Middle Aged, Outcome Assessment (Health Care), Male, Wegener Granulomatosis, Clinical Trials as Topic