Arthritis as the initial manifestation in children with tuberculosis:clinical analysis of five cases / 临床儿科杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To explore the diagnosis and treatment of five children with tuberculosis with arthritis as the initial manifestation. Methods The clinical features, laboratory tests and imaging manifestation of 5 children with joint tuberculosis were retrospectively analyzed. Results The course of disease was different. All the five patients were males (mean age 8.5 ±2.9 years old) and suffered from articular symptoms as initial feature. Four of them were diagnosed and treated as rheumatoid arthritis by other hospitals for up to three years, two patients have tuberculosis contact history, and another two patients were found with bone destruction, and one patient has pathologic fracture. Conclusions Tuberculosis is easily misdiagnosed as juvenile idiopathic arthritis , which deserves attention from a pediatric rheumatology physician.