Recurrent hip arthritis diagnosed as juvenile idiopathic arthritis: a case report

ABSTRACT

Juvenile idiopathic arthritis is the most common rheumatic disease in childhood. It is a chronic inflammatory disease associated with arthritis of unknown etiology that begins before the age of 16 and persists for longer than 6 weeks. In this report, the case of a child who suffered recurrent alternative hip arthritis with bilateral hip arthritis is examined, in which he was finally diagnosed as suffering from Juvenile idiopathic arthritis. A 14-year-old boy of Taiwanese origin presented with a normal birth and developmental history. At the age of 10, right-side hip joint pain was experienced, which later migrated to the left side. On further inspection, synovium hypertrophy, cartilage erosion and hip turbid fluid accumulation were found and aseptic arthritis was presumed to be the primary cause. However, after re-examining both his clinical history and presentation, Juvenile idiopathic arthritis was the final diagnosis. Any child presenting with repeat joint swelling are at risk of Juvenile idiopathic arthritis. This is still to be the case if symptoms recede or heal and no initial diagnosis is made. Therefore, a better understanding of the risk of recurrent arthritis is needed. It cannot be emphasized strongly enough that Juvenile idiopathic arthritis should be suspected at all times when a child suffers from recurrent aseptic arthritis of the hip joint