Commentary on the recent international multicentre study (EUVAS) on antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies

Antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies (ANCAs)-associated vasculitis (AAV) is a group of potentially life-threatening conditions that require early and accurate diagnosis, most often based on a combination of clinical and serological features.1 Most of the therapeutic modalities have immune-suppressing activity and can result in serious consequences, especially if applied to patients without AAV, such as those with infectious diseases, which may have clinical features that mimic AAV. Because an early and accurate diagnosis of AAV is a clinical imperative, both the differential diagnosis and the working diagnosis leading to urgent initial treatment are critical steps in the clinical care pathway. Even then, refinement of the diagnosis might be required during the clinical course after the initial choice of therapeutic strategies.

In this context and with interest we read the recent article by Damoiseaux et al2 summarising the results from a large international multicentre study on ANCA. The...