eMedicine Specialties > Dermatology > Papulosquamous Diseases

Reactive Arthritis: Follow-up

Author: Robert A Schwartz, MD, MPH, Professor and Head, Dermatology, Professor of Pathology, Pediatrics, Medicine, and Preventive Medicine and Community Health, UMDNJ-New Jersey Medical School
Coauthor(s): Jorge Romaní, MD, Assistant Professor, Department of Dermatology, Hospital De Palamós Faculty of Medicine, Spain; Lluís Puig, MD, PhD, Program Director, Assistant Professor, Department of Dermatology, Hospital De La Santa Creu I Sant Pau, Universitat Autónoma De Barcelona
Contributor Information and Disclosures

Updated: Jun 12, 2009

Follow-up

Further Inpatient Care

  • Careful monitoring of this systemic disease is indicated.

Complications

  • Erythroderma is described as a rare complication of reactive arthritis.
  • In severe cases, functional impairment may be severe, and a chronic and prolonged clinical course is followed by sequelae (eg, urethral stenosis, chronic arthritis, ocular impairment).
  • In some patients, arthropathic psoriasis develops.

Prognosis

  • The course of reactive arthritis is prolonged. Acute exacerbations and remissions may occur for weeks to months (seldom years), and spontaneous healing may occur with the possibility of recurrences.
  • An estimated recurrence rate of 15% per patient-year is reported.
  • A fatal outcome is seldom reported, but death can occur, and it is usually related to the adverse effects of treatment.

Patient Education

Miscellaneous

Medicolegal Pitfalls

  • A patient with new-onset reactive arthritis must be evaluated for HIV. Such patients are at risk for severe psoriasiform dermatitis, which commonly involves the flexures, scalp, palms, and soles. Frequently, psoriasiform dermatitis is associated with arthritis that involves the distal joints in a destructive pattern.
 


More on Reactive Arthritis

Overview: Reactive Arthritis
Differential Diagnoses & Workup: Reactive Arthritis
Treatment & Medication: Reactive Arthritis
Follow-up: Reactive Arthritis
Multimedia: Reactive Arthritis
References
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Further Reading

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Keywords

RS, Reiter disease, Reiter syndrome, Reiter's syndrome, Fiessinger-Leroy-Reiter syndrome, Fiessinger-Leroy syndrome, arthritis urethritica, blennorrheal idiopathic arthritis, reactive arthritis, conjunctivo-urethro-synovial syndrome, polyarthritis enterica, keratoderma blenorrhagica, urethritis

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Contributor Information and Disclosures

Author

Robert A Schwartz, MD, MPH, Professor and Head, Dermatology, Professor of Pathology, Pediatrics, Medicine, and Preventive Medicine and Community Health, UMDNJ-New Jersey Medical School
Robert A Schwartz, MD, MPH is a member of the following medical societies: Alpha Omega Alpha, American Academy of Dermatology, American College of Physicians, and Sigma Xi
Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Coauthor(s)

Jorge Romaní, MD, Assistant Professor, Department of Dermatology, Hospital De Palamós Faculty of Medicine, Spain
Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Lluís Puig, MD, PhD, Program Director, Assistant Professor, Department of Dermatology, Hospital De La Santa Creu I Sant Pau, Universitat Autónoma De Barcelona
Lluís Puig, MD, PhD is a member of the following medical societies: American Academy of Dermatology, American Society of Dermatopathology, European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology, and International Society of Dermatopathology
Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Medical Editor

Robin Travers, MD, Assistant Professor of Medicine (Dermatology), Dartmouth University School of Medicine; Staff Dermatologist, New England Baptist Hospital; Private Practice, SkinCare Physicians
Robin Travers, MD is a member of the following medical societies: American Academy of Dermatology, American Medical Informatics Association, Massachusetts Medical Society, Medical Dermatology Society, and Women's Dermatologic Society
Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Pharmacy Editor

David F Butler, MD, Professor of Dermatology, Texas A&M University College of Medicine; Chair, Department of Dermatology, Director, Dermatology Residency Training Program, Scott and White Clinic, Northside Clinic
David F Butler, MD is a member of the following medical societies: Alpha Omega Alpha, American Academy of Dermatology, American Medical Association, American Society for Dermatologic Surgery, American Society for MOHS Surgery, Association of Military Dermatologists, and Phi Beta Kappa
Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Managing Editor

Jeffrey Meffert, MD, Assistant Clinical Professor of Dermatology, University of Texas Health Science Center-San Antonio
Jeffrey Meffert, MD is a member of the following medical societies: American Academy of Dermatology, American Medical Association, Association of Military Dermatologists, and Texas Dermatological Society
Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

CME Editor

Glen H Crawford, MD, Assistant Clinical Professor, Department of Dermatology, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine; Chief, Division of Dermatology, The Pennsylvania Hospital
Glen H Crawford, MD is a member of the following medical societies: Alpha Omega Alpha, American Academy of Dermatology, American Medical Association, Phi Beta Kappa, and Society of USAF Flight Surgeons
Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Chief Editor

Dirk M Elston, MD, Director, Department of Dermatology, Geisinger Medical Center
Dirk M Elston, MD is a member of the following medical societies: American Academy of Dermatology
Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

 
 
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