Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis in Jordan: Single-Center Experience

Abstract

Background: Juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) is a heterogeneous group of disorders, including all forms of arthritis, begin in children who are less than 16 years old. This study aims to evaluate the clinical and laboratory features of JIA in Jordanian children in a single center.Methods: A retrospective analysis of the medical records of pediatric patients who were diagnosed as JIA based on the International League of Associations for Rheumatology (ILAR) criteria from 2015 through 2019 at a pediatric Rheumatology clinic in Queen Rania Children Hospital. All patients were below the age of 14 at the time of diagnosis. Collected data included age, gender, age at initial presentation and diagnosis, JIA subtypes, and laboratory data.Results: A total of 210 patients were included in this cohort (94 males and 116 females) with a mean age at diagnosis 5.33 ± 3.4 years and the mean age at onset of the disease was 5.08 ± 3.4 years (range 7 months – 14 years). Oligoarticular JIA was the commonest subtype (54.7%), followed by systemic arthritis (17.1%), polyarticular (12.3%). ANA was positive in 70 patients (33.6%). Uveitis occurred in thirty (14.2%) patientsConclusion: To the best of our knowledge, this cohort is the first report on JIA in Jordan, in comparison with other regional and international published reports, Oligoarticular JIA found to be the most common Subtype in our experience. To have more details about JIA characteristics, a population-based rather than a single-center study needs to be conducted in Jordan