Ocular Symptoms (Conjunctivitis, Uveitis) in Reactive Arthritis

The reactive arthritis (ReA) is an autoimmune disorder usually induced by the prior infection. Conjunctivitis, urethritis and arthritis emerging after the prior onset of diarrhea were first described by Stoll in 1776. In 1818, Benjamin Brodie described 5 cases of conjunctivitis, urethritis and arthritis with a history of venereal diseases. In 1916, Fiessinger and Leroy described 4 patients with an oculo-urethro-synovial syndrome following a diarrhea caused by Shigella. In the same year, Hans Reiter described a triad of symptoms: nongonococcal urethritis, conjunctivitis and arthritis suffered by a young officer with bloody diarrhea and linked these symptoms to the Treponema infection. Until modern times, many researchers used the term Reiter's syndrome for this triad of symptoms. In 1969, the use of the term reactive arthritis (ReA) was proposed, and in 1977, following the disclosure of the war crimes committed by Hans Reiter, it was recommended not to use the name of Reiter's syndrome due to ethical reasons. Based on the analysis of the literature the proportion of authors who use Reiter's name to describe the syndrome has decreased from 34% in 1998 to 18% in 2003 and to 9% in 2007 (Keyan & Rimar, 2008). Reactive arthritis belongs to a group of diseases known as autoimmune seronegative spondyloarthropathy that is associated with a high incidence of HLA antigen B 27. Reactive arthritis is a disease with diverse clinical manifestations affecting the peripheral joints, spine, skin, eyes, digestive and other systems. The variety of symptoms means that patients, especially in the initial stage of the disease, are treated by the specialists of other fields than rheumatology.