Evaluation of clinical, laboratory, and treatment follow-up of patients diagnosed with juvenile idiopathic arthritis

Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis (JIA) is the most common rheumatic disease of childhood. The clinical and demographic characteristics of the disease vary among populations. Our study aimed to reveal the demographic, clinical, and laboratory features of patients diagnosed with JIA at the Pediatric Rheumatology Clinic of Pamukkale University in Denizli, to evaluate their treatment regimens and responses, and to discuss the results in the light of the literature. In the study, 350 patient files were reviewed, and 283 patients who met the criteria were included in the study. The gender distribution was 143 (50.5%) girls and 140 (% 49.5%) boys. The most common JIA subtype was oligoarticular type (73.9%), and the least common was psoriatic arthritis (1.4%). The knee joint (65.4%) was the most commonly involved, and the temporomandibular joint (3.5%) was the least. MEFV mutation was found in 69 patients (24.4%), rheumatoid factor (RF) in 11 (3.9%), and Anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide (Anti-CCP) positivity in 7 (2.5%). Anti-nuclear antibody (ANA) positivity was detected at a rate of 38.5%, with the highest number of patients in the oligoarticular JIA subgroup. Human leukocyte antigen-B27 (HLA-B27) positivity was found in 10.3% of patients, with the highest positivity detected in the enthesitis-related arthritis group. Uveitis developed during the follow-up of 27 patients, 55.6% of whom were ANA positive. The treatments of the patients, the rates of remission, and the factors affecting remission were examined. It was observed that 188 patients were in remission during the data review period. 57% of the patients in remission were on medication, while 43% were in remission without medication. The presence of MEFV mutation was found to make a statistically significant difference in disease remission. In conclusion, although the data obtained from our study generally agrees with the literature, some differences were observed. These differences support the influence of genetic and environmental factors in the etiopathogenesis of JIA. Key Words: Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis, Arthritis, Oligoarticular JIA