Detection of bacteria and analyses of Chlamydia trachomatis viability in patients with postvenereal reactive arthritis.

Postvenereal reactive arthritis is an inflammatory form of arthritis that commonly develops after urogenital infection, predominantly in human leucocyte antigen-B27-positive men in the third decade of life. In our hospital, patients underwent synovectomy before a 4-month course of antibiotics (ciprofloxacin, tetracycline and roxithromicin). The clinical remission was achieved in approximately 70% patients. At molecular level, the remission was associated with the negative polymerase chain reaction findings of bacteria.