Pauciarticular Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis
Pauciarticular Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis: Pauciarticular means that four or fewer joints are affected. Pauciarticular is the most common form of juvenile rheumatoid arthritis; about half of all children with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis have this type.
Antibodies
Some children have special kinds of antibodies in the blood. One is called antinuclear antibody (ANA) and one is called rheumatoid factor.
Eye Problems
Eye disease affects about 20 to 30 percent of children with pauciarticular juvenile rheumatoid arthritis. Up to 80 percent of those with eye disease also test positive for ANA and the disease tends to develop at a particularly early age in these children. Regular examinations by an ophthalmologist (a doctor who specializes in eye diseases) are necessary to prevent serious eye problems such as iritis (inflammation of the iris, the colored part of the eye) or uveitis (inflammation of the uvea, or the inner eye).
Prognosis
Some children with pauciarticular disease outgrow arthritis by adulthood, although eye problems can continue and joint symptoms may recur in some people.
