Sacroiliitis in Inflammatory Joint Diseases

Abstract

Frequency of radiological sacroiliitis was investigated in 301 patients with an inflammatory joint disease 8 years from the onset. Apart from ankylosing spondylitis, sacroiliitis was seen in 39 % of psoriatic arthritis, in 36 % of reactive arthritis and Reiter's disease and in 5 % of seropositive rheumatoid arthritis and seronegative nonspesific arthritis. Sacroiliitis in seropositive rheumatoid arthritis was rare and mild, and it was associated with a highly destructive polyarthritis.

Sacroiliitis was more common and more advanced in HLA-B27 positive (31 %) than in B27 negative (10 %) patients. However, sacroiliitis seems not to be associated as strongly with HLA-B27 as with the disease or its aetiology.

Key Words:

• sacroiliitis
• inflammatory joint diseases