[Development of ulcerative colitis in a male patient during exacerbation of Reiter's syndrome symptoms]

Three years observation of a male patient was presented, who manifested Reiter's syndrome with two relapses of the disease, associated with the typical triad of symptoms (acute arthritis, conjunctivitis, urethritis). Both relapses were accompanied by diarrhoea. In course the first relapse skin lesions were observed on both shanks, diagnosed as erythema nodosum. Complex studies on diarrhoea, performed during the first relapse, failed to doxycyclin and diclofenac. During the second relapse of Reiter's syndrome the diarrhoea was diagnosed to result from co-existing colitis ulcerosa. Serum titers of Chlamydia trachomatis antibodies were low during relapse, increased during patient's recovery and persisted at the high during asymptomatic period. High titers of such antibodies were noted also in the serum of the patient's wife in whom neither anamnesis nor physical examination could demonstrate any pathology.