[Changes in the cervical spine in juvenile rheumatoid arthritis (author's transl)].

Changes in the cervical spine in juvenile rheumatoid arthritis can be shown by A.P., lateral and functional views with maximal flexion and extension, and particularly by tomography. The latter is essential for proper evaluation of the atlanto-occipital and atlanto-axial joints and of the odontoid. Atlanto-axial subluxation was found in eight out of eighty-four patients. Destruction of the odontoid was found in twelve out of fifty-three patients examined by tomography. The earliest tomographic changes at the atlanto-occipital joint consists of isolated joint narrowing, erosions and fusion and were observed in sixty-four out of sixty-six patients examined. Similar findings at the atlanto-axial joint were observed in thirty-seven out of sixty-six cases. The severity of the changes correlated with seropositivity and duration of the disease. The most marked changes were found with a prolonged history and a positive Rose-Waaler reaction.