[Unclassifiable inflammatory rheumatism with HLA B27]

The authors report on 25 patients carrying the HLA B27 histocompatibility antigen and suffering from un-classifiable inflammatory rheumatism. The group included 12 men and 13 women. At the time of the initial observation, the inflammatory rheumatism was localised particularly in the lower limbs, knees, ankles and heels, in 14 of the cases; 7 of the cases revealed chronic polyarthritis, with a largely symmetrical involvement of the joints in the fingers. At the end of the observation period, which lasted 38 months, on average (from 6 months to 1 1/2 years), the series included 3 cases of sero-negative polyarthritis, with symmetrical involvement of the fingers and bony erosions which can probably be classified with cases of rheumatoid polyarthritis (HLA B27 being a coincidence), 2 certain and 3 possible cases of ankylosing spondylarthritis. For several years following the onset of the disease, the majority of the other patient continued to suffer rheumatism of the lower limbs in exacerbations and often accompanied by talalgia.