Isolated Facet Joint Arthritis in Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis

Abstract

Juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) is a group of childhood inflammatory arthropathies which has variable clinical presentations and can affect multiple joints including the spine. Arthritis in facet joints is rare and very unusual to be the only presentation of JIA. We report a 16-year-old female who presented with back pain and stiffness, in which CT of the lumbar spine showed evidence of facet joint erosion and pelvis MRI showed facet joint arthritis consistent with juvenile idiopathic arthritis.