Roman Sobota1, Berthold Kepplinger2
Vasculitides are the rare cause of polyneuropathy in which a definitive diagnosis is usually not possible only on the basis of clinical findings, but usually requires a biopsy of the damaged tissue. The case of a 58 year old patient with rapidly progressive polyneuropathy with the accentuation on the lower limbs has been reported. Clinically, the patient has been presented as a painful condition with significant plegia of peroneal muscle groups and mutually extinct tendo-periostal reflexes. The severe sensomotoric polyneuropathy with the accentuation on the lower limbs was found by electromyographic and electroneurographic examination. The only pathology found in the polyneuropathy screening was the positivity of p-ANCA (perinuclear antineutrophile cytoplasmic antibodies). The vasculitis of the mainly epineural larger caliber vessels was proved by the nerve and muscle biopsy and immunosuppressive therapy launched subsequently. In the treatment of pain, opioids and gabapentin have been deployed. Subjectively, the resolution of pain and after intensive rehabilitation the slight improvement of neurological deficiency occurred in patient. Despite the low incidence it is necessary in the framework of differential diagnosis of rapidly progressive polyneuropathy to think on the possibility of diagnosis of vasculitis.