Yersinia Arthritis in Children

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Abstract
Over a 10-year period 37 children were hospitalized with infections of Yersinia enterocolitica III, IX or Yersinia pseudotuberculosis IA. The diagnosis was based on elevated antibody litres against these microorganisms. Thirteen of the children had reactive arthritis caused by Yersinia. The duration of arthritis in the primary phase varied between 3 and 22 months, the average being 6.5 months. Two patients developed persistent arthritis. Chemical synovectomy with osmic acid was performed in 3 children because of persistent synovitis in the knee joint. All 3 became asymptomatic after this therapy. The follow-up study of the patients with arthritis was performed after an average period of 4 years 7 months. The histocompatibility antigen HLA-B27 was found in 11 of the 13 children. This group included both patients with chronic arthritis and the 3 synovectomized children. Reactive arthritis in this material was a common, serious complication in an otherwise benign infection.