[Recommendations on the use of rituximab for ANCA-associated vasculitis].

Rituximab (Rtx) has been approved in Germany since April 2013 for treatment of granulomatosis with polyangiitis (GPA) and microscopic polyangiitis (MPA). This therapy can be used in severe manifestations of these diseases and in relapses. It is administered as infusions of 375 mg rituximab per m(2) every 4 weeks after high dose intravenous prednisolone for 3 days and continued parallel to concomitant oral prednisolone therapy. Recommendations for the indications and use for antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA) associated vasculitis (AAV) are described in addition to previous publications on recommendations for rheumatoid arthritis.