MOLECULAR DIAGNOSIS OF UREAPLASMA-UREALYTICUM IN AN IMMUNOCOMPETENT PATIENT WITH DESTRUCTIVE REACTIVE POLYARTHRITIS

Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification, which is a useful metho d for detecting infectious agents in joints, has potential utility in the molecular diagnosis of venereal-associated arthritis. Among pathog ens detected by this technique, Ureaplasma urealyticum, which is prima rily associated with reactive arthritis (ReA), is also implicated in s eptic arthritis in immunocompromised patients. We report here a case o f destructive polyarthritis, initially suggestive of septic arthritis, in an immunocompetent patient whose PCR positivity for U urealyticum DNA in one joint, in conjunction with the disease outcome and histolog ic findings, led to the diagnosis of destructive ReA.