The patterns of juvenile idiopathic arthritis

Abstract EN

Background : juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) is one of the most common chronic rheumatological diseases seen in children below 16 years of age.

objective : to evaluate JIA and its, clinical and laboratory characteristics and treatment.

design : a retrospective study.

setting : department of pediatrics, Abha Maternity and Children Hospital, Saudi Arabia.

method : all children who presented with symptoms of arthritis and diagnosed with JIA between 1 June 2014 and 30 June 2018 were included in the study.

result : seventy-four children suffering from JIA were included in the study.

thirty (40.4%) children had oligoarthritis, followed by 22 (29.7%) children with polyarthritis RF positive and 2 (2.7%) with RF negative.

twelve (16.2%) were undifferentiated juvenile rheumatoid arthritis (JRA).

Sixty-four (86.5%) had joint pain, followed by joint swelling in 28 (37.8%).

Twenty-five (33.8%) had a fever, 18 (24.3%) had rashes, Fifteen (20.3%) had a joint disability, 12 (16.2%) had fatigue, and nine (12.2%) had sleep disturbance.

the laboratory profile was normal among most of the children and the frequency of ANA was positive among 29 (39.2%) children.

pharmacologic therapy started with NSAIDs followed by DMARDS.

conclusion : the most common type of JIA was oligoarthritis.

the treatment with biological agents and pharmacological medications are important for managing the complications of JIA among children.