FRI0446 VIRAL ARTHRITIS: DESCRIPTIVE ANALYSIS OF A SERIES OF 131 PATIENTS
Authors: A. V. Orenes Vera, I. Vázquez-Gómez, L. Montolio-Chiva, E. Flores, D. Ybañez, E. Valls-Pascual, À. Martínez-Ferrer, A. Sendra-García, V. Núñez-Monje, I. Torner Hernández, J. J. Alegre-Sancho, N. Fernandez-Llanio
Journal: Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases (2020)

Background: Arthritis of viral aetiology is considered the most frequent cause of acute arthritis. The most common etiologic agent is parvovirus B19 (B19). Besides, other viruses can lead to inflammatory joint disease, such as Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), Cytomegalovirus (CMV), Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), Rubella, Mumps, Hepatitis B and C virus (HBV and HCV) and Chikungunya (in transcontinental travellers or immigrants). Objectives: To describe the epidemiological characteristics, clinical and analytical course, evolution and treatment of a series of patients with a confirmed diagnosis of viral arthritis. Methods: A descriptive study was performed, considering a series of cases of viral arthritis collected between 2000 and 2019. Epidemiological (sex, age, the season of the year, year of diagnosis, children of pediatric age), clinics (joint pattern, prodromes, accompanying clinic) and analytical (CRP, ESR, ANA, RF) variables were collected. Statistical analysis was performed with the SPSS 22.0 program. Results: The data of 131 patients (109 women, 22 men), with a mean age of 39.7 years (SD 11.9) were collected. 93.9% of the cases were produced by B19, 3.8% by EBV, and only 3 by other viruses (1 by CMV, 1 by HBV, 1 by Mumps). The highest incidence years were 2005(55 cases), 2000(10 cases) and 2016(8 cases). Almost half of the cases (46.6%) occurred in spring, while 32.8% in summer, 15.3% in winter and 5.3% in autumn. Contrary to the expectations, only 20% of the patients had children in pediatric age. The most frequent clinical picture was acute polyarthritis (53.4%), followed by inflammatory polyarthralgias (19.1%). Moreover, acute oligoarthritis was present in 10.7% of cases, and acute monoarthritis in 3.1% of cases. More than half of the patients (54.2%) had prodromes, most frequently respiratory symptoms, and the joint clinic was accompanied by a skin rash in 35.1% and fever in 29% of cases. Analytically, 33.6% presented high CRP, 39.7% high ESR, 19.8% transient anemia, 9.9% positive ANA (4.6% transiently), 9.1% anti dc-DNA (7.6% transiently), and 10.7% positive RF (3.1% transiently). In 79.4% of cases, the clinic picture was limited, with a mean duration of 36 days (SD 47.7), but 12.3% had recurrences. The 69.5% of the patients needed treatment with acetaminophen and/or NSAIDs (6.7% did not need treatment), but corticotherapy was needed in 21.4% of cases. 4.6% of the cases evolved to chronicity, which made DMARD necessary in 3 patients (two of them with a final diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis, being treated with Methotrexate and Leflunomide, and the third one had a diagnosis of undifferentiated connective disease, treated with Hydroxychloroquine). Conclusion: B19 remains the most common cause of viral arthritis in our population. It appears with a sporadic, occasionally epidemic, pattern of presentation, predominantly in warm seasons. A clinical presentation as an oligoarthritis or an acute monoarthritis or even the positivity of autoimmunity markers, should not make us rule out this possible aetiology. One out of 20 cases can evolve to chronicity and even make necessary the addition of DMARD. Disclosure of Interests: Ana V Orenes Vera: None declared, I Vázquez-Gómez: None declared, L Montolio-Chiva: None declared, Eduardo Flores: None declared, Desamparados Ybañez: None declared, Elia Valls-Pascual Grant/research support from: Roche, Novartis, and AbbVie, Speakers bureau: AbbVie, Lilly, Pfizer, MSD, Novartis, Janssen, Bristol Myers Squibb, UCB Pharma, À Martínez-Ferrer: None declared, A Sendra-García: None declared, V Núñez-Monje: None declared, Inmaculada Torner Hernández: None declared, Juanjo J Alegre-Sancho Consultant of: UCB, Roche, Sanofi, Boehringer, Celltrion, Paid instructor for: GSK, Speakers bureau: MSD, GSK, Lilly, Sanofi, Roche, UCB, Actelion, Pfizer, Abbvie, Novartis, Nagore Fernandez-Llanio: None declared