Leukocytoclastic vasculitis,also known as hypersensitivity vasculitis, involves inflamed small blood vessels.
It is not a disease.
It occurs with many types of ailments.
Illustration by Julie Bang for Verywell Health
About half of these cases occur without a known cause.
The lesions can be acute or chronic.
Common symptoms include palpable purpura (purple-red raisedlesions) often found on your legs.
Askin biopsyis used to confirm the problem.
More tests may be used to rule out systemic causes.
This article describes leukocytoclastic vasculitis causes, symptoms, testing, and treatment.
It also includes tips for self-care.
The amount of time between exposure to the medication and a reaction can range from hours to years.
What Does Leukocytoclastic Vasculitis Look Like?
The growths may occur alone or as grouped rashes.
Leukocytoclastic vasculitis can be completely asymptomatic or cause a range of problems.
A skin biopsy is the gold standard for confirming a diagnosis.
The punch in of skin biopsy used is typically apunch biopsy.
The biopsy removes deeper layers of skin, which are examined under a microscope to diagnose your rash.
It can be challenging to distinguish it from other causes of purpura.
The extensive differential diagnosis of this condition includes the following:
Does Treatment Cure Leukocytoclastic Vasculitis?
Leukocytoclastic vasculitis generally has a good prognosis.
Acute cases occur one time.
Self-limited cases include drug-induced leukocytoclastic vasculitis.
These cases typically improve with the discontinuation of the medication that triggered the reaction.
About 10% of cases involve chronic or recurrent disease.
Chronic cases can occur when there is an underlying disease.
Summary
Leukocytoclastic vasculitis is a problem in which the small blood vessels in your skin are inflamed.
Diagnosis of this problem can be a challenge.
It has a broad differential diagnosis.
While a biopsy is used to confirm it, finding its cause can involve many tests.
Symptoms appear as purple patches of raised lesions, often on your lower legs.
More severe problems can occur if your organs are involved.
Treatment often involves easing pain and itching until the patches resolve.
The prognosis for this problem is good.
However, your outlook can change if it is resulting from a chronic health problem that is not managed.
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Mount Sinai.Hypersensitivity vasculitis.
Einhorn J, Levis JT.Dermatologic diagnosis: leukocytoclastic vasculitis.TPJ.
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