Background/Purpose: IgA vasculitis (IgAV) is assumed to be rare in adults. Reported annual incidence rates vary between 0.8 and 1.8 cases per 100,000 adults.1 Our aim was to determine the incidence rate of histologically confirmed IgAV in our country.
Methods: A retrospective patient chart review of adult patients diagnosed with IgAV was performed at the departments of rheumatology, nephrology and dermatovenerology at an integrated secondary/tertiary university teaching hospital, which is the only hospital serving a region representing approximately a quarter of the national population. In order not to miss any cases managed by the few private dermatovenerology and nephrology outpatient clinics, the attached medical faculty’s Institute of Pathology provided a list of all histologically proven cases of IaAV in the region. The annual incidence rate of histologically confirmed IgAV was calculated.
Results: From June 2010 to June 2013 48, 3, and 7 new cases of IgAV were identified at the departments of rheumatology, nephrology, and dermatovenerology, respectively in a well-defined region with a population of 517,445 white Caucasians aged 20 years or above. No additional cases were identified from records retrieved at the Institute of Pathology. The estimated annual incidence rate of IgAV is 3.7 (95% CI 2.2–5.7) per 100,000 adults. The largest proportion of cases were identified in the winter (31.0% cases) and the smallest in the spring (17.2% cases). Male to female ratio was 1.6.
Conclusion: The annual incidence rate of IgAV of 3.7 per 100,000 adults may be underestimated due to retrospective case ascertainment and inclusion of histologically confirmed cases only, yet IgAV none the less represents the second most common systemic vasculitis among adults in our population, second only to giant cell arteritis with an estimated annual incidence rate of 4.7 per100,000 adults, which is in striking discord with previous reports.1
Reference: 1 Penny K, Fleming M, Kazmierczak D, Thomas A. An epidemiological study of Henoch-Schönlein purpura. Paediatr Nurs. 2010;22:30-5.
Disclosure:
A. Hocevar,
None;
Rotar,
None;
J. Ostrovrsnik,
None;
V. Jurcic,
None;
J. Lindic,
None;
M. Tomsic,
None.
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ACR Meeting Abstracts - https://acrabstracts.org/abstract/iga-vasculitis-the-second-most-common-systemic-vasculitis-in-adults-in-slovenia/