The Prevalence of Hla-b27 in Inflammatory Bowel Disease Patients in Jordan

Objective: To find out the prevalence of Human Leucocyte Antigen B27 (HLA-B27) in inflammatory bowel disease patients in Jordan. Methods: Over the last year (2005) all inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) patients attending the gastroenterology outpatient clinic at King Hussein Medical Center(KHMC), were given a questionnaire asking them to report back pain and the characteristics of this pain. The first 60 patients to complain of inflammatory-type back pain (according to the European Spondyloarthropathy Study Group Criteria); underwent a blood test to check for the presence of HLA-B27 in their blood. At the same time a comparable number of patients not suffering from IBD or any rheumatological disease, were checked for the presence of HLA-B27. Results: Only five patients of the IBD group (4 females and 1 male) showed HLA-B27 positivity. Three patients had ulcerative colitis (UC) and 2 patients had Crohn’s disease (CD). Three of the patients in IBD group had active disease and were on steroids the other two were in remission and were on aminosalicylic acid (5-ASA) only. Three patients of the controlled group (all females) showed HLA-B2 positivity. Two of the patients in the IBD group were of European origin. Conclusion: It is concluded that HLA-B27 is no more common in IBD patients than in the general population of Jordan.