Is this acute lymphoblastic leukaemia or juvenile rheumatoid arthritis

Arthritis could be a presenting feature of acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) and could be wrongly diagnosed as juvenile rheumatoid arthritis (JRA). Clinical and laboratory parameters might differentiate ALL and JRA in children who present with arthritis. Out of a total of 250 children of ALL, 10 were referred to the department of child health and paediatric haemato-oncology of Christian Medical College, Vellore during 1990-2002. They were compared with 10 age-matched children who had systematic onset of JRA. The age groups in ALL and JRA were 6.05 +/- 2.45 years and 5.47 +/- 4.4 years respectively. Severe pain as evidenced by inability to walk was found in children but one child with JRA was unable to walk (p < 0.05). Lymphocytosis was noticed in 7 children (70%) with ALL whereas none had in JRA group. ESR was elevated in all cases in both the groups. One case in each group had antinuclear antibody positivity. It can be concluded that ALL can masquerade as systematic onset of JRA. So paediatricians should be careful enough while diagnosing the disease process.