Pattern and Treatment Outcomes of Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis in Kenyatta National Hospital

Abstract

BACKGROUND Juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) is the most common rheumatic disease of childhood. Early diagnosis and appropriate management is important to prevent associated disease damage and disability. OBJECTIVE To determine the subtypes of JIA seen at the KNH pediatric rheumatology clinic and to determine their treatment and clinical outcomes. METHODOLOGY This was a cross sectional study. The study population was children between 1- 18 years. Patients were recruited from the KNH pediatric rheumatology clinic. The study period was 4 months. Data analysis was done using STATA software package. RESULTS The most common subtype of JIA found was polyarticular JIA 40%. The male to female ratio of the patients recruited into the study as 1:2. The average time from the onset of symptoms till diagnosis was 6 months. Patients with active disease were 80% despite being on treatment. Damage was divided into intra and extraarticular damage. 48% of the patients seen had articular damage. Systemic and polyarticular JIA patients had more articular damage than patients with the other JIA subtypes. Extra articular damage was also observed in 16% of the patients. One patient with polyarticular JIA was found to have uveitis. CONCLUSION The most common subtype of JIA from this study was found to be polyarticular. The male to female ratio was 1:2. The average time of diagnosis from onset of first symptoms was an average of 12 months. 48% of the patients had articular damage.