[Spectrum of post-enteritic reactive arthritis in childhood]

Eleven children (7 boys and 4 girls) suffered from reactive arthropathies following an enteritis. Mean age at onset of disease was 9.7 years (range 3.3-14.5 years). Six children had a classical Reiter's syndrome and two a juvenile spondyloarthritis diagnosed earlier. In 10/11 children, onset of disease was within 5 weeks following a febrile enteritis. The enteritis was confirmed in all 6 cases examined during the first three months after onset of disease. The arthritis was predominantly oligoarticular and affected mostly the joints of the lower extremities and toes. Recurrent enthesopathies and arthralgias occurred in most children. HLA-B27 was positive in 9 (82%). During a follow-up of 0.9 to 6.7 years, arthritis relapsed in most of the patients and 4 children had severe arthritis, and 5 sacroiliitis. Urethritis and occular signs relapsed frequently, but there were no noticeable disabilities. Two other girls had self-limited arthralgia and erythema nodosum following a febrile enteritis. This disease may represent the first stage of the broad clinical spectrum of the reactive arthropathies. In our outpatient clinic of paediatric rheumatology, 9% of 127 patients had reactive arthropathies. They show close relationships to each other and to other HLA-B27-associated spondyloarthropathies. The differentiation of this group of diseases from the juvenile rheumatoid arthritis is possible and relevant.