According to a story from The Rheumatologist, rheumatologists, as specialists in autoimmune disease that can affect multiple body systems, are in a key position to diagnose and treat vasculitis. In fact, these specialists are playing an increasingly crucial role in treating this disease. However, beyond treating the disease itself, rheumatologists can also play a key role as advocates.
About Vasculitis
Vasculitis is an inflammatory disorder in which blood vessels are destroyed. Both arteries and veins can be affected. The cause of vasculitis can vary and is not always well understood in some cases. It can be caused by an infection and some cases appear to have a genetic component. It is regarded as an autoimmune disease, but the exact process that triggers an immune response is unknown. Symptoms of vasculitis include weight loss, fever, kidney disease, bloody stool, abdominal pain, skin conditions such as purpura, arthritis, vision loss, headache, stroke, high blood pressure, bloody cough, gangrene, and nose bleeds. This disease can cause significant system-wide effects that require prompt treatment. This treatment usually involves immunosuppresive drugs such as steroids in order to bring down inflammation. To learn more about vasculitis, click here.
Advocating For The Vasculitis Community
There are a number of ways that rheumatologists can help advocate for the vasculitis community.
- Spreading awareness is an important role for these specialists. The fact is that information about vasculitis is not well known outside of the rheumatology field, so talking to other doctors about what to look out for is very important. This can improve a patient’s chances of getting diagnosed and treated more quickly, which is important to prevent more acute complications from appearing.
- Rheumatologists can also make sure to give extra support to vasculitis patients and their families. This is as simple as giving as much information to the patient as possible and providing them with resources that can help them feel less isolated.
- Educating other health specialists is also a valuable role that rheumatologists can play to other caregivers. Sometimes a group of doctors are necessary to treat diseases like vasculitis which can impact multiple body systems, and it can be valuable to serve as the vasculitis expert as part of a larger team. This is a great way to inform other professionals.
- Another important thing for rheumatologists to do is to stay current with the latest info about vasculitis and more specifically the latest treatment options. Only by doing this can patients get the most cutting edge care that they need and deserve.
