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Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis

Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis (JIA)
is a group of conditions that covers all forms of arthritis lasting for at least 6 weeks in patients less than 16 years and is a significant cause of disability.

1- It is an inflammatory condition that is prevalent in preschool age through teenagers and affects twice as many girls than boys. The common symptoms are joint pain, stiffness and swelling.

Stages of JIA:

Based on the extent of involvement, JIA has 5 stages

Stages of radiological progression in JIA

StagesRadiological charges
IOnly soft tissue swelling
IIPeriarticular osteoporosis, Increased joint space (Effusion)
IIILoss of articular cartilage (Decreased joint space)
IVErosion
VSubluxation and ankylosis

The joints most commonly affected are the knee, ankle and wrist. In some cases, it may cause eye inflammation, known as uveitis characterized by redness, pain, light sensitivity and blurry vision.2

Diagnosis:

Elevated Erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) and C reactive protein levels along with inflammatory markers such as IL- 1, IL- 8 in blood are indicative of the disease. The diagnosis of JIA can be tricky as it overlaps with a lot of other similar conditions. Other investigations such as an X-ray and MRI are performed to rule out other conditions and detect joint damage.

Reference:

  1. Weiss JE, llowite NT. Juvenile idiopathic arthritis. Rheumatic Disease Clinics of North America. 2007 Aug 1;33(3):441-70.
  2. Edelsten C, Lee V, Bentley CR, Kanski JJ, Graham EM. An evaluation of baseline risk factors predicting severity in juvenile idiopathic arthritis associated uveitis and other chronic anterior uveitis in early childhood. British Journal of Ophthalmology. 2002 Jan 1;86(1):51-6.