Definitions Chronic childhood arthritis affecting five joints or more during the first 6 months of disease is defined as polyarthritis. The International League of Associations for Rheumatology (ILAR) classification system…
Introduction Over the past 80 years, the role of laboratory investigation in rheumatic diseases has progressed from reports of curious in vitro phenomena in diseases defined purely on clinical grounds…
Definition Oligoarticular juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) is defined as a chronic inflammatory arthritis of unknown origin that begins before the age of 16 and persists for at least 6 weeks…
The syndrome of chronic inflammation of the exocrine glands, principally the salivary and lacrimal glands, was first described by Henrik Sjögren, a Swedish ophthalmologist, who published in 1933 the first…
Arthritis is one of the most common chronic diseases of children and youth, and an important cause of short- and long-term disability. There are many causes of chronic arthritis, but…
The principal drugs used in pediatric rheumatology are drugs that suppress the inflammatory and immune responses. This chapter outlines important general principles relating to these medications, particularly as they apply…
The goal of occupational and physical therapy in the treatment of children with rheumatic diseases is to enable them to participate in all the activities of everyday life. Integrating cultural…
Chronic or intermittent pain is a primary symptom of many pediatric rheumatic diseases, especially arthritis. Patients often report mild to moderate pain. About 25% to 30% report moderate to severe…
Biologics are different from nonbiologic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs) in that they are produced by biologic processes rather than chemical syntheses and target specific, well-defined molecules expressed on cells or…
Rheumatic diseases are chronic, multisystem disorders characterized by an unpredictable course with periods of exacerbation and remission. Optimal care requires the expertise of many disciplines ( Table 11-1 , Fig….
