What is polyarthritis?

According to statistics, in the United States in the period from 2013 to 2015, 54.4 million people were diagnosed with polyarthritis annually in diseases such as arthritis, fibromyalgia, gout or lupus.

Symptoms

Polyarthritis can develop gradually or have a sudden onset. Its manifestations are similar to the symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis:

· pain;

· stiffness;

· swelling or redness of the skin over the affected joint;

· rash;

· fatigue;

· increase in body temperature to 38⁰ and above;

· sweating;

· lack of appetite;

· weight loss.

Reasons

Polyarthritis is a polyethological disease, that is, there may be several causes of its occurrence, including hereditary predisposition, disorders of the immune system, various infections.

Polyarthritis is divided into seropositive and seronegative.

Seropositive polyarthritis develops in the presence of antibodies to its own proteins in the patient's body. In other words, immune cells, whose purpose is to attack bacteria or viruses and protect the body, begin to attack their own cells.

Seronegative polyarthritis – there are no such antibodies in the patient's blood.

Sometimes polyarthritis begins against the background of an earlier infection or disease, which significantly complicates the diagnosis of doctors.

In 2016, a case of polyarthritis was described, which occurred in a 19-year-old patient with meningitis.

Rubella and mumps viruses can cause changes in the immune system that lead to polyarthritis.

Risk factors for polyarthritis are divided into two types: changeable and unchangeable.

Risk factors that can be changed:

· Lifestyle. Smoking, alcohol consumption and other bad habits can contribute to polyarthritis.

· Environment. If a child grows up in a family where parents smoke, then it is highly likely that in adulthood he will have polyarthritis.

Risk factors that cannot be changed:

·        Age. The older a person gets, the higher his risk of polyarthritis.

· Gender. According to recent studies, the risk of polyarthritis in women is higher than in men.

·        Heredity. The presence of certain genes increases the risk of polyarthritis.

Classification of polyarthritis

There are several forms of polyarthritis. Here are some of them:

• Polyarticular juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) is an inflammation of several joints in a child under the age of 16 for no apparent reason. It proceeds with severe pain and swelling of both large and small joints: ankle, knee, hip, shoulder, elbow, wrist, even maxillary and cervical spine joints. The causes of JIA are unknown. The disease cannot be cured, but the symptoms respond well to treatment and may become less intense over time.

• Lupus. In addition to the manifestations of polyarthritis, this disease is accompanied by damage to the skin, kidneys, and central nervous system.

• Psoriatic arthritis. As the name suggests, this type of polyarthritis is associated with psoriasis. Sometimes the disease begins with arthritis, and skin manifestations join later. Characteristic symptoms are a red rash with peeling, fingers and toes on one side of the body due to swelling become similar to a sausage.

Concomitant diseases

The symptoms of polyarthritis are not strictly specific. The patient may consult a doctor because of complaints that are not related to the joints in any way (for example, due to fatigue and a flu-like condition).

There are symptoms that can accompany polyarthritis and signal the presence of other diseases.

Dupuytren's contracture is a compaction of the connective tissue on the palm with the formation of a string that prevents the fingers from unbending.

· Fibromyalgia – musculoskeletal pain throughout the body.

· Hemochromatosis – excessive accumulation of iron in the body leads to inflammation of the compounds.

·        Intestinal inflammation (ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease) – inflammation in the small and large intestine.

· Raynaud's disease is a violation of blood circulation of fingers and hands, less often – toes. Characterized by pallor or cyanosis in the affected area.

Diagnostics

It can be quite difficult to establish an accurate diagnosis, since polyarthritis has many forms that are not easy to differentiate.

The following are the symptoms, the presence of at least one of which should alert and be a reason to consult a doctor:

· stiffness lasting more than 30 minutes with the preservation of pain and swelling;

· joint pain that makes daily activity difficult;

· hot and red skin over the joint;

· duration of any symptom is more than 3 days;

· pain and swelling are repeated repeatedly.

In this situation, the doctor will send the patient for examination, first of all, a blood test to detect markers of inflammation: rheumatoid factor, C-reactive protein and others.

The doctor will also examine the joints: appearance, mobility, soreness. According to the indications, an X-ray will be prescribed.

Sometimes an analysis of the synovial fluid of the affected joint is required.

Complications

In the absence of proper treatment, polyarthritis can lead to damage to other organs.

· Lungs: scarring of the lungs is accompanied by coughing or shortness of breath.

· Eyes: scleritis, dry eye syndrome.

·        Skin: rash or appearance of subcutaneous tubercles.

· Heart: inflammation of the heart sac, accompanied by chest pain. The probability of a heart attack increases.

The longer a person suffers from polyarthritis, the higher the risk of possible complications.

Treatment

Currently, there are no ways to cure polyarthritis, but it is possible to reduce the inflammatory process by taking medications, exercising, changing lifestyle.

Medical treatment of polyarthritis:

·        Painkillers (acetaminophen);

· Nonsteroidal anti–inflammatory drugs (ibuprofen, naproxen, diclofenac) - relieve pain and stop inflammation;

· Basic anti–rheumatic drugs that modify the course of the disease - their effect is longer than that of painkillers, they slow down the course of the disease. Methotrexate is the most commonly prescribed drug from this group.

· Biological drugs – have an effect on the body's immune system. Most often it is infliximab and etanersept.

·        Steroids in the form of intravenous injections or tablets reduce inflammation and reduce pain. Long-term use of steroids is not recommended due to the numerous side effects.

Drugs for the treatment of polyarthritis have a strong effect, so treatment should be started only as prescribed by a doctor. Any change in dosage is made by a doctor, and the patient should be monitored. In addition, when taking certain medications, you can not drink alcohol, all questions should be clarified with the attending physician.

Non-drug treatment includes physiotherapy, physical therapy, swimming, walking, cycling. The exercise plan should be coordinated with the attending physician or a special trainer.

Aminat Adzhieva, portal "Eternal Youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru based on Medical News Today: What is polyarthritis?