Alterations in macroscopically intact skin of children with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis.

Punch biopsies of macroscopic-intact skin were performed on 75 children with rheumatoid arthritis, aged 4--14 years. There was no significant correlation between the morphologic alterations and the sex and age of the children or the duration of the disease, but there was a positive relationship with the degree of activity of the rheumatoid process. It appears that punch biopsy of the skin in children with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis can facilitate determination of alterations of the connective tissue if the data obtained are regularly correlated with clinical and laboratory findings. In such a way, the results can reflect the effects of treatment, as well as the evolution and prognosis of the juvenile rheumatoid arthritis.