Do my symptoms indicate vasculitis?

Question

Hello doctor,

I am a 51-year-old woman with an eight-month history of persistent fever, shortness of breath on exertion, suffocation feeling, barking cough, sometimes productive cough with yellow sputum, raised resting heart rate, and tachycardia and palpitations with mild exertion.

I am status post sudden onset of joint pain or headaches, adipose-derived stem cells, and rapid atrial fibrillation. I have done a p-ANCA test with a background of positive Lyme testing, positive babesia, and equivocal mycoplasma pneumonia.

I am worried about having vasculitis. I would like to know how vasculitis is diagnosed and if I fit the symptom picture. I am currently on doxycycline 100 mg a day.

Kindly assist.

Answer 1

Hello,

Welcome to icliniq.com.

I have read your query and can understand your concerns.

The manifestations of vasculitis in general are weight loss of more than 10 % of body weight, aches and pains, fever, loss of appetite, and mononeuritis (a condition where damage or inflammation occurs to a single peripheral nerve).

Investigations will reveal high ESR (erythrocyte sedimentation rate), positive CRP (C-reactive protein), high platelet count, and protein in urine, along with RBCs (red blood cells). The other manifestations depend on the type of vasculitis. However, you do not seem to have manifestations of vasculitis.

I hope it helps.

Thank you.