These are dependent on the particular clinical subgroup of polyarteritis that occurs. Generally, it is found in middle-aged men.
Initially features are non-specific:
- fever, malaise, weight-loss, arthralgia, myalgia
Later features may include:
- ear nose and throat - secretory otitis media, sensorineural deafness, epistaxis, nasal obstruction, ulceration of the hard or soft palate.
- lung - lower respiratory tract involvement in 45-65% of patients; common symptoms dyspnoea, cough, haemoptysis, pleuritic chest pain.
- joints - affected in about 60%; migratory polyarthralgia is a common symptom in prodrome.
- muscle - myalgia, weakness - muscle in involvement in 30-80% of patients.
- eye - red, painful (due to episcleritis) - eye involvement in 40-80% of cases.
- nervous system:
- PNS - affected in 50-70% of cases; peripheral neuropathy, mononeuritis multiplex.
- CNS - occurs in 25%
- GU tract:
- kidney involvment in 65-80%; poor prognosis.
- skin - lesions found in 20-50%; specific lesions eg skin necrosis, subcutaneous nodules, livedo reticularis. Non-specific manifestations such as macular erythema, erythema multiforme and erythema nodosum also may occur.
- CVS - MI, heart failure, arrhythmias.
- GI tract - 25-50%; gastrointestinal ischaemia, hepatomegaly in 40%.