Profile of Reiter's disease in Saudi Arabia

We studied the clinical features of cases of Reiter's disease as seen in two tertiary care hospitals in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, over a period of 9 years. We gathered 34 cases, 29 (85%) males and 5 (15%) females (M:F ratio 5.8:1). The mean age of onset was 29.4 (SD 6.4) years. Gastrointestinal and genitourinary infection were elicited in 24 patients (71%). Fever occurred in 6 patients (18%), fatigue in 13 (38%) and conjunctivitis in 13 (38%). Lower limb large joints were affected at presentation in 23 patients (68%), followed by combined presentation of peripheral joints and axial joints in 10 patients (30%). Sacroilitis was seen in 5 cases (15%). One patient had spondylitis, while enthesopathy was seen in 6 patients (18%). Bone scintigraphy was done in 14 patients, 11 of which were positive at peripheral joints, while 9 showed increased uptake at the sacroiliac joints. HLA B27 status was tested in 15 patients, 4 (27%) of which were positive.