A cross-sectional study of 130 Brazilian patients with Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis: analysis of articular and ophthalmologic manifestations

This is a cross-sectional study that analyzed the pattern and frequency of articular and ophthalmologic manifestations in patients with Crohn's disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC), with or without signs of active bowel inflammation. One hundred and thirty consecutive patients with CD (n = 71) and UC (n = 59) were examined. Simple X-rays of lumbar spine, sacroiliac joints, and calcaneal bone were performed and human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-B27 was typed. Joint manifestations occurred in 41 (31.5%) patients, 27 (38%) with CD and 14 (23.7%) with UC. Peripheral involvement occurred in 22 patients, axial involvement in five, and mixed involvement in 14. The most frequently involved joints were knees (56.1%), ankles (29.3%), and hips (29.3%), while the predominant pattern was oligoarticular (84.6%) and asymmetrical (65.6%). Enthesitis was identified in seven (5.4%) patients and inflammatory lumbar pain in 13 (10%). Eight of these patients fulfilled the diagnostic criteria for ankylosing spondylitis (6.2%). Radiographic sacroiliitis occurred in 12 patients (9.2%). Ocular abnormalities were present in six patients (6.2%), and HLA-B27 was positive in five (5.8%). In conclusion, the articular manifestations in the present study were predominantly oligoarticular and asymmetric, with a low frequency of ophthalmologic involvement and positive HLA-B27.