Sulphasalazine desensitization in a paediatric patient with juvenile chronic arthritis

Sulphasalazine is an effective drug for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis in adults. In paediatric patients, the drug has been used to treat inflammatory bowel disease and is currently under investigation for the treatment of juvenile chronic arthritis. Although sulphasalazine has a rather low incidence of serious side effects, one of the most common is skin rash, thought to be an allergic reaction. In adults, sulphasalazine desensitization programmes have proven to be effective for the treatment of this side effect. We present the case of a 7-year-old boy suffering from HLA-B 27 positive juvenile chronic arthritis. After initiation of treatment with sulphasalazine he developed an allergic skin rash, but tolerated the drug well after completion of a desensitization programme. To our knowledge, this is the first report of a paediatric patient with juvenile chronic arthritis successfully desensitized with sulphasalazine.