Question:medium
Which of the following is true about polyarteritis nodosa (PAN)?
Which of the following is true about polyarteritis nodosa (PAN)?
Show Hint
One classic association of medium-vessel PAN is a viral hepatitis seen in roughly a third of patients; PAN is ANCA-negative.
Updated On: Jun 23, 2026
- Microscopy shows fibrinoid necrosis in large arteries
- ANCA is positive
- About 30% of patients have HBsAg positivity
- Patients have hypogammaglobulinaemia
Show Solution
The Correct Option is C
Solution and Explanation
Two facts unlock PAN: it is a medium-vessel vasculitis and it is ANCA-negative.
Test each option: the fibrinoid necrosis of PAN is in small to medium muscular arteries, not large arteries, so that statement is false. PAN is the classic ANCA-negative vasculitis, which separates it from microscopic polyangiitis and GPA, so the ANCA-positive claim is false. PAN is an immune-complex disease, so hypogammaglobulinaemia does not fit either.
The true statement: roughly 30% of PAN patients carry chronic hepatitis B, and HBsAg-HBsAb complexes lodge in the affected vessels, supporting an immune-complex cause in those cases.
Remember: PAN spares the lungs and loves the kidneys, gut, heart, and muscle, and it has a strong hepatitis B link.
Reference: systemic vasculitides.
Test each option: the fibrinoid necrosis of PAN is in small to medium muscular arteries, not large arteries, so that statement is false. PAN is the classic ANCA-negative vasculitis, which separates it from microscopic polyangiitis and GPA, so the ANCA-positive claim is false. PAN is an immune-complex disease, so hypogammaglobulinaemia does not fit either.
The true statement: roughly 30% of PAN patients carry chronic hepatitis B, and HBsAg-HBsAb complexes lodge in the affected vessels, supporting an immune-complex cause in those cases.
Remember: PAN spares the lungs and loves the kidneys, gut, heart, and muscle, and it has a strong hepatitis B link.
Reference: systemic vasculitides.
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