title: Reactive arthritis: newer developments.
abstract: Reactive arthritis (ReA) is characterized by an aseptic inflammatory articular involvement occurring in a genetically predisposed individual secondary to an infectious process localized outside the joint. ReA usually refers to an acute or insidious oligoarthritis process after enteric (enteroarthritis) or urogenital (uroarthritis) infection. Conventional antirheumatic therapeutic modalities based on nonsteroid anti-inflammatory drugs, sulfasalazine, and steroids are effective in the majority of patients. In more refractory cases, the use of second-line agents including methotrexate and more recently biological agents such as etanercept and infliximab has been found highly effective. The role of antibiotics remains not well established, although they appear to be effective in acute ReA of urogenital origin.
authors.affiliation: Section of Rheumatology, Department of Medicine, Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, 1542 Tulane Avenue, New Orleans, LA 70112-2822, USA.
authors.forename: Diana
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Flores
authors.forename: Javier
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Marquez
authors.forename: Mario
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Garza
authors.forename: Luis R
authors.initials: LR
authors.lastname: Espinoza
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D016918:Arthritis, Reactive / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology*; D002648:Child; D006801:Humans; D011379:Prognosis; D000091402:Prohibitins