What is the differential diagnosis of nodular vasculitis?

include constitutional symptoms, elevated erythrocyte sedimentation rate, an abnormal chest x-ray, or a positive tuberculin skin test. Both polyarteritis nodosa and superficial thrombophlebitis also show vasculitis involving medium-sized vessels in the subcutis. In both conditions, the inflammation is more specifically directed toward the vessel, and extensive lobular inflammation obscuring the vessel changes is uncommon. The clinical findings are also quite different in these two disorders (e.g., hypertension, renal, and central nervous system disease in systemic polyarteritis; association with internal malignancy in superficial migratory thrombophlebitis). In one author’s experience (JWP), true examples of nodular vasculitis are seldom seen, but this might change with the recent rise in number of cases of tuberculosis associated with human immunodeficiency virus.