JUVENILE RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS
Juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) is the most common form of persistent arthritis in children. (Juvenile in this context refers to an onset before age 16 idiopathic refers to a condition with no defined cause, and arthritis is the inflammation of the synovium or covering membrane of a joint.) JIA differs significantly from arthritis commonly seen in adults (osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis), and other types of arthritis that can present in childhood which are chronic conditions (e.g. psoriatic arthritis and ankylosing spondylitis). The cardinal clinical feature of JIA is persistent swelling of the affected joint(s), which commonly include the knee, ankle, wrist and small joints of the hands and feet. Swelling may be difficult to detect clinically, especially for joints such as those of the spine, sacroiliac joints, shoulder, hip and jaw. In these cases, imaging techniques such as ultrasound or MRI can be very useful. Pain is an important feature of JIA, but young children may have difficulty in communicating this symptom. Late effects of arthritis include joint contracture (stiff, bent joint) and joint damage. Children with JIA vary in the degree to which they are affected by particular symptoms. (Sources: Scan J. Rheumatology/ Dorland’s Medical Dictionary/ Medline Plus/ Wikipedia)
