Clinical presentation of reitet's syndrome among Iraqi patients

Abstract EN

Background : To shed some light on the clinical features of patients with Reiter's syndrome.

Methods : Reiter's syndrome in 50 patients (38 males and 12 females) was reported in a prospective study.

All patients were subjected to detailed history, full clinical assessment and a slit lamp eye examination by an Ophthalmologist.

A Dermatologist opinion was sought when needed and thorough laboratory and radiological investigations were made for all patients.

Results: Reiter's syndrome was post-dysnteric in 44 (88 %) of patients and post-venereal in 6 (12 %) patients.

Its clinical features are similar to other series.

Arthritis was noted in all patients, diarrhea in 44 (88 %), eye lesions in 40 (80 %) and mucocutaneous lesions in 37 (74 %) patients but significant differences were noted between our study and others with respect to sex ratio, lower back pain, urethritis, oral ulcer, circulate balanitis.

Tissue typing for HLA-B27 was positive in 72 % of our patients.

Conclusions : Reiter's syndrome is not rare in Iraq as previously thought.

Physicians need to be more aware of its existence in young adult men who develop arthritis following dysentery.