In India, pediatric rheumatology is a rising question and a worse situation as compared to adult rheumatology because “children too do get arthritis”. In India, with one-third population being children pediatric rheumatology is of special relevance. The high prevalence of rheumatic heart disease in India, together with the emphasis on rheumatic heart disease teaching in undergraduate medical curriculum, has led doctors to under-diagnose juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA). Failure to consider JIA leads to inordinate delays in adequate care, and to children with 'disease damage' far exceeding 'disease activity.
This article presents a current scenario of JIA in India. Juvenile idiopathic arthritis is the commonest pediatric onset of rheumatologic disease. JIA represents a heterogeneous group of arthritis of unknown cause, which begin before 16 years of age. The JIA classification…
