Arthritis in Jamaica - abstract

Presented are data on 241 patients who attended the Rheumatology Clinic U.H.W.I. over a 5-month period. Two hundred and eight (86 percent) of the patients were female. The ages ranged from 7 to 87 years (mean 41 years). Seventy-eight (32 percent) had rheumatoid arthritis. Their mean age was 47 years (range 18-84 years). Only 2 patients were male. Twenty-one (27 percent) were negative for the rheumatoid factor, and 7 (9 percent) had anti-nuclear antibodies. Twenty-seven patients (11 percent), all female, were diagnosed as having systemic lupus erythematosus. Their mean age was 30 years (range 10-50 years). Two patients were consistently negative for anti-nuclear antibodies. Other diseases frequently diagnosed were: degenerative joint disease in 26, juvenile rheumatoid arthritis in 12, mixed connective tissue disease in 8, spondylitis in 7. Forty-one patients were seen with arthralgia and/or myalgia without evidence of an inflammatory process (AU)

Arthritis in childhood: report of 61 consecutive cases seen at the University Hospital of the West Indies - abstract

A two-year survey (October'85 - September'87) was undertaken to determine the pattern of arthritides in children presenting to the Child Health Department, and/or Rheumatology Clinic, at the University Hospital. There were 61 children (24 males, 37 females) aged from one to sixteen years, with a median age of ten years. The duration of follow-up ranged from one month to nine years. Seventeen (28 percent) children were diagnosed as juvenile chronic arthritis. A polyarticular onset was seen in 9/17 children, pauci-articular onset in 7/17 children and one child had a systemic onset. The most commonly affected joint was the knee (25 percent), followed by small joints of the hand (19 percent). Residual joint dysfunction was mild in 8 children and severe in 2. The remaining 7 children had no functional abnormalities at the time of last review. Nine (15 percent) children had arthritis associated with rheumatic fever, without evidence of carditis. Seven (11 percent) children were diagnosed as systematic lupus erythematosus (SLE). The main features of SLE in addition to arthritis were skin rashes, fever and generalised lymphadenopathy. Renal involvement was seen in 2 children. Two children with SLE also had homozygous sickle-cell disease. A self-limiting type of arthritis was seen in 13 (21 percent) children. Three (5 percent) had septic arthritis and another three had Kawasaki disease. Nine had other types of arthritides. Arthritis in childhood is not uncommon in Jamaica. However, the outcome appears to be generally favourable except in a few cases of juvenile chronic arthritis (AU)