[Spondyloarthropathies in children].

The diagnosis of spondylarthropathy is more difficult in children than in adults because there are no uniform diagnostic criteria. In a study involving 65 children (20 girls and 45 boys) with chronic arthritis and HLA B27 antigen, the clinical symptoms, localization and type of joint involvement, the extraarticular manifestations and radiology results are analyzed. In 73% of cases the joints affected were located in the lower extremities. In 30% of the patients an enthesopathy was present. Four patients had psoriasis and 9 intestinal symptoms. In no patient were autoantibodies detected. In one half of the cases there was evidence of a familial disposition. With the help of two different systems of classification an attempt is made to evaluate the individual criteria and propose guidelines for diagnosis. The results so far have shown that both systems are applicable to children.