Skip to main content
PMC home page
Gut logoLink to Gut
. 1987 Apr;28(4):394–401. doi: 10.1136/gut.28.4.394

Histopathology of intestinal inflammation related to reactive arthritis.

C Cuvelier, C Barbatis, H Mielants, M De Vos, H Roels, E Veys
PMCID: PMC1432823  PMID: 3495471

Abstract

This study has identified a group of patients with inflammatory chronic, or relapsing acute arthritis who even in the absence of gastrointestinal symptoms have histological evidence of ileocolitis. At colonoscopy simultaneous biopsies of the terminal ileum and colon were taken from 108 patients with reactive arthritis (n = 55) or ankylosing spondylitis (n = 53), 47 patients with other rheumatic diseases and 19 control patients suffering from colonic polyps, adenocarcinoma, or chronic constipation. All control patients and all but one patient with rheumatoid arthritis, juvenile chronic arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus, lumbar back ache, and psoriatic arthritis did not have histological evidence of acute or chronic inflammatory bowel disease. In contrast, in 30 of 35 (56.6%) patients with ankylosing spondylitis, and in 37 of 55 (67%) patients with reactive arthritis, regardless of HLA B27 phenotype, there was histological evidence of inflammatory bowel disease with features either of acute enterocolitis, or early Crohn's disease. Only 18 of 67 (27%) of the patients with histological gut inflammation, however, had intestinal symptoms.

Full text

PDF
394

Images in this article

398Fig. 3
on p.398
398Fig. 4
on p.398
398Fig. 5
on p.398
397Fig. 1
on p.397
397Fig. 2
on p.397
400Fig. 6
on p.400

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Aho K., Ahvonen P., Lassus A., Sievers K., Tiilikainen A. HL-A 27 in reactive arthritis. A study of Yersinia arthritis and Reiter's disease. Arthritis Rheum. 1974 Sep-Oct;17(5):521–526. doi: 10.1002/art.1780170505. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Berden J. H., Muytjens H. L., van de Putte L. B. Reactive arthritis associated with Campylobacter jejuni enteritis. Br Med J. 1979 Feb 10;1(6160):380–381. doi: 10.1136/bmj.1.6160.380-a. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Bjarnason I., Williams P., So A., Zanelli G. D., Levi A. J., Gumpel J. M., Peters T. J., Ansell B. Intestinal permeability and inflammation in rheumatoid arthritis: effects of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. Lancet. 1984 Nov 24;2(8413):1171–1174. doi: 10.1016/s0140-6736(84)92739-9. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Brewerton D. A., Hart F. D., Nicholls A., Caffrey M., James D. C., Sturrock R. D. Ankylosing spondylitis and HL-A 27. Lancet. 1973 Apr 28;1(7809):904–907. doi: 10.1016/s0140-6736(73)91360-3. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Eastmond C. J., Rajah S. M., Tovey D., Wright V. Seronegative pauciarticular arthritis and HLA B27. Ann Rheum Dis. 1980 Jun;39(3):231–234. doi: 10.1136/ard.39.3.231. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. El-Maraghi N. R., Mair N. S. The histopathology of enteric infection with Yersinia pseudotuberculosis. Am J Clin Pathol. 1979 Jun;71(6):631–639. doi: 10.1093/ajcp/71.6.631. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Haslock I. Arthritis and Crohn's disease. A family study. Ann Rheum Dis. 1973 Nov;32(6):479–486. doi: 10.1136/ard.32.6.479. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Joliat G., Ferro A., Jeannet M., Ott H. HLA-B27 antigen in diagnosis of atypical seronegative inflammatory arthropathy. Ann Rheum Dis. 1976 Dec;35(6):531–533. doi: 10.1136/ard.35.6.531. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Keat A. Reiter's syndrome and reactive arthritis in perspective. N Engl J Med. 1983 Dec 29;309(26):1606–1615. doi: 10.1056/NEJM198312293092604. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Meyer O., Vignoli M., Ryckewaert A. Rhumatismes inflammatoires inclassables avec HLA B27. Rev Rhum Mal Osteoartic. 1982 Jan;49(1):11–16. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Morris R. I., Metzger A. L., Bluestone R., Terasaki P. I. HL-A-W27--a useful discriminator in the arthropathies of inflammatory bowel disease. N Engl J Med. 1974 May 16;290(20):1117–1119. doi: 10.1056/NEJM197405162902004. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Noer H. R. An "experimental" epidemic of Reiter's syndrome. JAMA. 1966 Nov 14;198(7):693–698. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Prakash S., Mehra N. K., Bhargava S., Malaviya A. N. HLA B27 related 'unclassifiable' seronegative spondyloarthropathies. Ann Rheum Dis. 1983 Dec;42(6):640–643. doi: 10.1136/ard.42.6.640. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Rickert R. R., Carter H. W. The "early" ulcerative lesion of Crohn's disease: correlative light- and scanning electron-microscopic studies. J Clin Gastroenterol. 1980 Mar;2(1):11–19. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Rotterdam H., Korelitz B. I., Sommers S. C. Microgranulomas in grossly normal rectal mucosa in Crohn's disease. Am J Clin Pathol. 1977 Jun;67(6):550–554. doi: 10.1093/ajcp/67.6.550. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Schlosstein L., Terasaki P. I., Bluestone R., Pearson C. M. High association of an HL-A antigen, W27, with ankylosing spondylitis. N Engl J Med. 1973 Apr 5;288(14):704–706. doi: 10.1056/NEJM197304052881403. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Smith M. S., Barker J. D. Granulomatous ileocolitis preceded by three years of pauciarticular arthritis. Am J Gastroenterol. 1978 Mar;69(3 Pt 1):328–330. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Vantrappen G., Ponette E., Geboes K., Bertrand P. Yersinia enteritis and enterocolitis: gastroenterological aspects. Gastroenterology. 1977 Feb;72(2):220–227. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. WRIGHT V., WATKINSON G. THE ARTHRITIS OF ULCERATIVE COLITIS. Br Med J. 1965 Sep 18;2(5463):670–675. doi: 10.1136/bmj.2.5463.670. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. Warren C. P. Arthritis associated with Salmonella infections. Ann Rheum Dis. 1970 Sep;29(5):483–487. doi: 10.1136/ard.29.5.483. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  21. van Spreeuwel J. P., Duursma G. C., Meijer C. J., Bax R., Rosekrans P. C., Lindeman J. Campylobacter colitis: histological immunohistochemical and ultrastructural findings. Gut. 1985 Sep;26(9):945–951. doi: 10.1136/gut.26.9.945. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Gut are provided here courtesy of BMJ Publishing Group

RESOURCES