THE ARTICULAR PROGNOSIS OF PAUCIARTICULAR ONSET JUVENILE ARTHRITIS ISNOT INFLUENCED BY THE PRESENCE OF UVEITIS

Objective. The purpose of our retrospective study was to determine the longterm articular prognosis in patients with pauciarticular onset ju venile arthritis (JA) with and without uveitis. Methods. Twenty-nine p atients with pauciarticular onset JA with uveitis were compared to 86 without uveitis, matched for sex, age at disease onset, and duration o f followup. All patients had a minimum followup of 6 years from diseas e onset. The outcome of arthritis was evaluated by: (1) progression to polyarticular disease; (2) hip involvement; (3) radiographic evidence of articular erosions; (4) significant functional disability at the l ast visit. Results. There was no Statistically significant difference between the 2 groups in the severity variables considered, single or c ombined. Conclusion. Our data suggest that the presence of uveitis doe s not influence the longterm articular prognosis in pauciarticular ons et JA.