Clinical picture of reactive arthritis

Abstract

Reactive arthritis is a nonpurulent joint inflammation which develops in 1-3 % of patients a mean of 1-2 weeks after a preceding infection. The triggering infections include enteritis due to Salmonella, Shigella, Yersinia and Campylobacter, and urethritis due to Chlamydia trachomatis and possibly also due to Gonococcus and Ureaplasma. The joint symptoms run a typical course with asymmetric preference to joints of lower extremities. In addition to arthritis, other musculosceletal features and extra-articular symptoms are common. The acute disease has a mean duration of 3-5 months, though more prolonged or chronic forms occur. The patients do not have the rheumatoid factor, but the majority have HLA-B27. Compared with HLA-B27 negative patients, the patients with this antigen usually have a more severe acute disease with more extra-articular symptoms and a tendency to develop chronic low back pain and sacroiliitis.

Key Words:

• arthritis
• reactive
• Yersinia
• Chlamydia
• Salmonella
• Shigella
• HLA-B27