Professor David D’Cruz MD FRCP is a Consultant Rheumatologist and Clinical Lead in the Louise Coote Lupus Unit at St Thomas’ Hospital. His major clinical and research interests are systemic lupus erythematosus, the antiphospholipid syndrome and systemic vasculitis. He trained at St Mary’s Hospital Medical School in London. Senior House Officer and Registrar rotations at University College and the Royal London Hospitals were followed by a clinical registrar post and then an arc Clinical Research Fellowship at St Thomas’ Hospital. He was appointed Senior Lecturer in Rheumatology at St Bartholomew’s and The Royal London Hospitals following a Senior Registrar post there. Dr D’Cruz has published widely including peer reviewed papers, scientific reviews and book chapters. He is one of the Managing Editors of the journal Lupus and was President of the Rheumatology Section of the Royal Society of Medicine 2008 – 9.

The Vasculitis clinic at St Thomas’ Hospital was established by Professor D’Cruz under the guidance of Professor Graham Hughes in 1989. Patients with a broad spectrum of vasculitic disorders are cared for including Wegener’s Granulomatosis (GPA or Granulomatosis with polyangiitis), Churg-Strauss syndrome (EGPA), microscopic polyangiitis, polyarteritis nodosa, Henoch-Schönlein purpura, Behcet’s disease and relapsing polychondritis.

Selected publications related to vasculitis:

D’Cruz DP, Baguley E, Asherson RA, Hughes GRV. Ear, nose and throat symptoms in sub – acute Wegener’s granulomatosis. Br Med J 1989; 299: 419 – 422.

Asherson RA, D’Cruz DP, Stephens CJM, McKee PH, Hughes GRV. Urticarial vasculitis in a Connective Tissue Disease Clinic: Patterns, presentations and treatment. Semin Arthritis Rheum 1991; 20: 285 – 296.

Del Papa N, Meroni PL, Barcellini W, Sinico A, Radice A, Tincani A, D’Cruz D, Nicoletti F, Borghi MO, Khamashta MA, Hughes GRV, Balestrieri G. Antibodies to endothelial cells in primary vasculitides mediate in vitro endothelial cytotoxicity in the presence of normal peripheral blood mononuclear cells. Clin Immunol Immunopathol 1992; 63: 267 – 274.

Edelsten C, D’Cruz D, Hughes GRV, Graham EM. Antiendothelial cell antibodies in patients with idiopathic retinal vasculitis. Curr Eye Res 1992; 11: 203 – 208.

D’Cruz D, Cervera R, Aydintug AO, Ahmed T, Font J, Hughes GRV. Systemic lupus erythematosus evolving into systemic vasculitis: A report of five cases. Br J Rheum 1993; 32: 154 – 157.

Del Papa N, Conforti G, Gambini D, La Rosa L, Tincani A, D’Cruz D, Khamashta M, Hughes GRV, Balestrieri G, Meroni PL. Characterization of the endothelial surface proteins recognised by antiendothelial antibodies in primary and secondary autoimmune vasculitis. Clin Immunol Immunopathol 1994; 70: 211 – 216.

Cuadrado MJ, D’Cruz D, Lloyd M, Mujic F, Khamashta MA, Hughes GRV. Allergic disorders in systemic vasculitis: A case controlled study. Br J Rheumatol 1994; 33: 749 – 753.

D’Cruz D, Chesser AMS, Lightowler C, Comer M, Hurst MJ, Baker LRI, Raine AEG. Anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody positive crescentic glomerulonephritis associated with anti-thyroid drug treatment. Br J Rheum 1995; 34: 1090 – 1091.

D’Cruz D, Direskeneli H, Khamashta MA, Hughes GRV. Lymphocyte activation markers and von Willebrand factor antigen in Wegener’s granulomatosis: potential markers for disease activity. J Rheumatol 1999; 26: 103 – 9.

Rees JD, Lanca S, Marques PV, Gomez-Puerta JA, Moco R, Oliveri C, Khamashta MA, Hughes GR, D’Cruz DP. Prevalence of the antiphospholipid syndrome in primary systemic vasculitis. Ann Rheum Dis. 2006;65:109-11.

Lapraik C, Watts R, Bacon P, Carruthers D, Chakravarty K, D’Cruz D, Guillevin L, Harper L, Jayne D, Luqmani R, Mooney J, Scott D; BSR and BHPR Standards, Guidelines and Audit Working Group. BSR and BHPR guidelines for the management of adults with ANCA associated vasculitis. Rheumatology (Oxford). 2007;46:1615-6.

Sangle SR, Davies RJ, Mora M, Baron MA, Hughes GR, D’Cruz DP. Ankle-brachial pressure index: a simple tool for assessing cardiovascular risk in patients with systemic vasculitis. Rheumatology (Oxford). 2008;47:1058-60.

Guerry MJ, Brogan P, Bruce IN, D’Cruz DP, Harper L, Luqmani R, Pusey CD, Salama AD, Scott DG, Savage CO, Watts RA, Jayne DR. Recommendations for the use of rituximab in anti-neutrophil cytoplasm antibody-associated vasculitis. Rheumatology (Oxford). 2012;51:634-43.

Zhao Y, Odell E, Choong LM, Barone F, Fields P, Wilkins B, Tungekar FM, Patel P, Sanderson JD, Sangle S, D’Cruz D, Spencer J. Granulomatosis with polyangiitis involves sustained mucosal inflammation that is rich in B-cell survival factors and autoantigen. Rheumatology (Oxford). 2012;51:1580-6.

Ntatsaki E, Carruthers D, Chakravarty K, D’Cruz D, Harper L, Jayne D, Luqmani R, Mills J, Mooney J, Venning M, Watts RA; on behalf of the BSR and BHPR Standards, Guidelines and Audit Working Group. Rheumatology (Oxford). 2014;53:2306-9.

Sangle SR, Vounotrypidis P, Briley A, Nel L, Lutalo PM, Sanchez-Fernandez S, Chaib A, Salas-Manzanedo V, Shennan A, Khamashta MA, D’Cruz DP. Pregnancy outcome in patients with systemic vasculitis: a single-centre matched case-control study. Rheumatology (Oxford). 2015;54:1582-6.

Jordan N, D’Cruz DP. Association of lupus anticoagulant with long-term damage accrual in ANCA associated vasculitis. Arthritis Care Res (Hoboken). 2015 Sep 28. doi: 10.1002/acr.22723.