Rheumatoid arthritis in children Custom Search Rheumatoid arthritis in children also called as Juvenile Rheumatoid arthritis (JRA) is a chronic inflammatory disease predominantly involving joints but has the potential to cause damage to other organs like eyes, heart lungs and skin. The exact cause of this disease remains unknown. The disease varies in severity ranging from mild intermittent disease to severe form causing permanent disability. Symptoms and signs: The disease can manifest is one of the three major forms. Polyarticular form affects many joints with chronic pain and swelling. The joint involvement is usually symmetrical. Systemic features like fever, fatigue, nodules over skin are less prominent. Involvement of the eyes is less common. Rheumatoid arthritis factor (RA factor) is commonly positive in older children after the age of years. In the systemic form the disease manifests as an acute febrile, illness with a transient skin rash, joint pain, enlargement of liver and spleen and increase in white blood cell count. These patients suffer from episode attacks. They do not generally suffer from eye problems. The third form is known as pauciartucular type. In this only a few joints are involved. Often the large weight fearing joints are affected in an asymmetrical form. Systemic features are much less common but extra articular manifestations can be severe. Nearly one third of these patients develop chronic inflammatory disease of eyes ( iridocyclitis ) which may even culminate in blindness if not properly treated. These children should have regular eye check up antinuclear antibody test is usually positive. Laboratory investigations: No single test is absolutely diagnostic of JRA and the diagnosis is made after taking clinical and laboratory findings into consideration. Custom Search
Page last reviewed on 8th November 2009
|
