AB1030 Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis in Central Tunisia: Clinical and Therapeutic Features (About 54 Cases)

Background Juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) groups several entities having in common the presence of arthritis that begin before the age of 16, persist for more than six weeks and have no identified cause. Objectives The aim of our study was to determine the feature of the different clinical forms of JIA. Methods This is a retrospective study of 54 cases of JIA according to the criteria of the International League Association of Rheumatology in department of Rheumatology collected over a period of 16 years [1998-2014]. Results Our population consists of 28 men and 26 women (sex ratio of 1.12). The average age of symptoms onset was 10.4 years [4-15 years]. Late diagnosis in adulthood was noted in 8 patients (15% of cases). The polyarticular form was the most common, affecting 66% of cases (15.1% with rheumatoid factor and 50.9% without rheumatoid factor). The other forms were in descending order: oligoarticular form (15.1%), arthritis with enthesitis (9.4%), systemic form (7.6%) and psoriatic arthritis (1.9%). Stunting and hip disease were observed respectively in 30.2 and 32.1% of cases. Extra- articular signs were fever (18.9%), uveitis (3.8%), pericarditis (3.8%), pleurisy (1.9%), rash (1.9%), peripheral lymphadenopathy (1.9%) and myocarditis (1.9%). The treatments used were: corticosteroids (66%), non steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (43.4%), aspirin (17%), methotrexate (47.2%) and biotherapy (anti-tnf alpha) (9.4%). Conclusions JIA is an heterogeneous group of diseases having in common the presence of arthritis. Our series is characterized by the prevalence of hip disease. The treatment depends on the form of the disease. Disclosure of Interest None declared