Long-term remissions can be induced and maintained with medications and close management in an extremely high number of patients. Effective therapy is predicated by early diagnosis. During recent years, diagnosis of vasculitis has been established early in the disease, giving the patient better results of treatment and remission.

Maintaining Remission
Some vasculitis patients in remission are prescribed a "maintenance" dosage of prednisone, or an immunosuppressive such as Imuran or Methotrexate or one of the other commonly used immunosuppressives.

Bactrim (TMP-SMX, Septra) or other formulations are often prescribed beyond remission to help maintain the disease in remission.

Surgery or other physical trauma sometimes triggers a relapse and some physicians put the AV patient on prednisone just prior to surgery, then take the patient off prednisone some time after the surgery.

Although there seems to be few studies supporting this, some AV patients feel that relapses have been triggered by excessive or serious:
• Infection
• Physical stress
• Emotional stress
• Trauma

Newly Diagnosed

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