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Polyarthritis is often caused by an auto-immune disorder such as rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, and lupus erythematosus, or other inflammatory rheumatic diseases, like crystal arthropathies. It can also be caused by cancer or various medications. [1] Another cause of polyarthritis is infection, which may be viral or bacterial. [1]
Inflammatory arthritis can sometimes cause symptoms in parts of the body other than the joints, like the eyes, heart, or lungs. As arthritis progresses, joint damage can get worse.
Hepatitis C – RA-like symmetrical small-joint polyarthritis may occur in the context of this condition. Hepatitis C may also induce rheumatoid factor auto-antibodies. Rarer causes which usually behave differently but may cause joint pains: [88] Sarcoidosis, amyloidosis, and Whipple's disease can also resemble RA.
Arthritis is the most common cause of disability in the United States. More than 20 million individuals with arthritis have severe limitations in function on a daily basis. [12] Absenteeism and frequent visits to the physician are common in individuals who have arthritis.
Monoarthritis, or monoarticular arthritis, is inflammation of one joint at a time (as opposed to oligoarthritis, which affects 2-4 joints, and polyarthritis, which affects more than 4 joints). It is usually caused by trauma, infection, or crystalline arthritis.
Palindromic rheumatism is a disease of unknown cause. It has been suggested that it is an abortive form of rheumatoid arthritis (RA), since anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide antibodies (anti-CCP) and antikeratin antibodies (AKA) are present in a high proportion of patients, as is the case in rheumatoid arthritis. [6]
Less often it has been reported that persons may experience arthralgia, monoarthritis, or chronic polyarthritis that mimics rheumatoid arthritis, leading to a difficult diagnosis for this disease. [3] The appearance of erosions and destruction, however, is exceedingly rare and this may point instead to rheumatoid arthritis as a cause. [3]
Other less common cause include specific bacteria as mycobacterium tuberculosis, viruses, fungi and parasites. [3] In children, however, there are certain groups that are specifically vulnerable to such infections, namely preterm infants, neonates in general, children and adolescents with hematologic disorders, renal osteodystrophy , and immune ...