Antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody-associated vasculitis classification by cluster analysis based on clinical phenotypes: a single-center retrospective cohort study.

Because the clusters were naturally derived from their distinguished phenotypes and have different clinical courses, our clustering method may be a more clinically relevant classification system for AAV, revealing its phenotypic diversity. We also proposed a simple and intuitive distance-based assignment algorithm, which can be easily modified according to specific clinical needs. Key Points • In this study with a single-center AAV cohort, we showed that AAV can be divided into five distinct subclasses with different disease courses based on the clinical and laboratory features of the patients. • Our study revealed ethnic differences in AAV manifestation and suggests that physicians may need to analyze their own AAV patients to assess the disease status of AAV patients. • We proposed a distance-based cluster membership assignment method that can be clinically modified to fit the specific purpose of grouping patients.