Recently, different rheumatic manifestations have been reported in ass
ociation with myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS). The objective of the pr
esent report was to know the prevalence and characteristics of joint i
nflammatory manifestations associated with MDS in our environment. Thr
ee cases were found in the review of 55 patients with RIDS diagnosed i
n our institution in the last three years, The three patients had chro
nic non-erosive polyarthritis, with a poor response to non-steroidal a
nti-inflammatory drugs and required intermediate doses of glucocortico
ids for its control, The arthritis was present in two patients at bloo
d disease diagnosis. The prevalence of arthritis associated with MDS i
n our series was 5.4% (95% CI: 1.1% to 15.1%). Articular symptoms may
be present before the hematological diagnosis; therefore, MDS must be
considered in the differential diagnosis of late onset polyarthritis,
particularly when associated with cytopenia, Glucocorticoid therapy at
intermediate doses is usually required to control the articular sympt
oms.