Chronic Childhood Vasculitis: Characterizing the Individual Rare Diseases to Improve Patient Outcomes

We anticipate enrollment and collection of clinical data from as many as 600 children with various forms of childhood vasculitis, with approximately one third (200) of those children also contributing biological samples for study.

For children with vasculitis who are enrolled in the study, clinical information will be obtained from the medical chart from the time of diagnosis, post-induction (3-6 months post diagnosis) visit, 12-month clinic visit, and their most recent clinic visit or last clinic visit before discharge to adult care (ie. final outcome visit). Information that will be collected includes laboratory test results, biopsy and imaging results, disease activity, clinical history, and medications. Blood, urine, and saliva samples will also be collected at each clinic visit. If the subject experiences a disease flare, clinical data and biological samples will be collected at the time of the flare and at a later date when the disease remits.

The PedVas study is linked to an adult vasculitis initiative called DCVAS: Diagnosis and Classification Criteria in Vasculitis. Our DCVAS co-investigators and collaborators will recruit up to 250 adults at or near the time of diagnosis of the following forms of vasculitis: GPA, MPA, EGPA, TA, and UCV. Clinical data will be collected as part of the DCVAS study; this includes information such as laboratory test results, disease activity, and clinical history. Blood will also be collected and analyzed in parallel with samples collected from children with vasculitis. Finally, a DNA-biobank will be created and will house samples from approximately 700 adults and representing all forms of vasculitis. Recruitment will proceed according to DCVAS approved protocols and it will be conducted at participating DCVAS centres after the patient has formally consented to participation in the DCVAS study.

All biological samples will be processed and analyzed in Vancouver at the BC Children's Hospital Research Institute and at the University of British Columbia. Detailed data will be collected in electronic format and include demographic variables, socioeconomic status, detailed clinical history & physical findings, anthropometric measures, and measures of disease activity. All data for systemic vasculitis patients will be directly entered at each site into a secure, online, web-based data entry system called REDCap which is managed through the data management centre at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver.