Reactive arthritis is classified as an autoimmune condition that develops in response to an infection in another part of the body (cross-reactivity). Coming into contact with bacteria and developing an infection can trigger the disease. By the time the patient presents with symptoms, often the "trigger" infection has been cured or is in remission in chronic cases, thus making determination of the initial cause difficult.
The arthritis often is coupled with other characteristic symptoms; this is called Reiter's syndrome, Reiter's disease or Reiter's arthritis. The term "reactive arthritis" is increasingly used as a substitute for this designation because of Hans Conrad Julius Reiter's war crimes with the Nazi Party. The manifestations of reactive arthritis include the following triad of symptoms: an inflammatory arthritis of large joints, inflammation of the eyes in the form of conjunctivitis or uveitis, andurethritis in men or cervicitis in women. Arthritis occurring alone following sexual exposure or enteric infection is also known as reactive arthritis. Patients can also present with mucocutaneous lesions, as well as psoriasis-like skin lesions such as circinate balanitis, and keratoderma blennorrhagicum. Enthesitis can involve the Achilles tendon resulting in heel pain. Not all affected persons have all the manifestations.
The clinical pattern of reactive arthritis commonly consists of an inflammation of fewer than five joints which often includes the knee or sacroiliac joint. The arthritis may be "additive" (more joints become inflamed in addition to the primarily affected one) or "migratory" (new joints become inflamed after the initially inflamed site has already improved).
Reactive arthritis is an RF-seronegative, HLA-B27-linked arthritis often precipitated by genitourinary or gastrointestinalinfections. The most common triggers are intestinal infections (with Salmonella, Shigella or Campylobacter) and sexually transmitted infections (with Chlamydia trachomatis).
It most commonly strikes individuals aged 20–40 years of age, is more common in men than in women, and more common in white than in black people. This is owing to the high frequency of the HLA-B27 gene in the white population. It can occur in epidemic form. Patients with HIV have an increased risk of developing reactive arthritis as well.
A large number of cases during World Wars I and II focused attention on the triad of arthritis, urethritis, and conjunctivitis (often with additional mucocutaneous lesions), which at that time was also referred to as Fiessenger-Leroy-Reiter syndrome.
We researched this topic for you and found the following best online resources. They are categorized into basic, advanced, and research level based on the extent of information you need. You will be taken to the respective websites by pressing on the links below.
Basic information:
http://umm.edu/health/medical/altmed/condition/reiter-syndrome university of maryland medical center reiter syndrome
http://www.webmd.com/osteoarthritis/arthritis-reactive-arthritis#1 web md reactive arthritis
http://www.healthline.com/health/reactive-arthritis health line reactive arthritis
https://www.dermnetnz.org/topics/reiter-syndrome dermnet nz reiter syndrome
http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=5290 medicine net definition of reiter syndrome
http://www.healthcentral.com/encyclopedia/hc/reiters-syndrome-3168691/ health central reiter syndrome
http://www.about-reactive-arthritis.com/ what is reactive arthritis?
http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/reactive-arthritis/pages/introduction.aspx nhs uk reactive arthritis
http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/reactive-arthritis/home/ovc-20269675 mayo clinic reactive arthritis
http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/healthlibrary/conditions/arthritis_and_other_rheumatic_diseases/reactive_arthritis_reiters_syndrome_85,p00064/ john hopkins medical library reactive arthritis
http://www.medindia.net/patients/patientinfo/reiters-syndrome.htm medindia reiter syndrome
https://medlineplus.gov/ency/article/000440.htm medline plus reactive arthritis
http://www.everydayhealth.com/rheumatic-diseases/treatment-of-reiters-syndrome.aspx everyday health treatment of reiter's syndrome
https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/conditionsandtreatments/reactive-arthritis better health reactive arthritis
https://www.verywell.com/reactive-arthritis-reiters-syndrome-190292 very well reiter syndrome
Advanced information:
http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/331347-overview medscape reactive arthritis
http://www.aafp.org/afp/1999/0801/p499.html reactive arthritis (reiter's syndrome) by werner f. barth, m.d., and kinim segal, m.d., washington hospital center, washington, d.c. am fam physician. 1999 aug 1;60(2):499-503.
http://patient.info/in/doctor/reactive-arthritis-pro patient reactive arthritis
http://www.physio-pedia.com/reiter's_syndrome physiopedia reiter syndrome
http://www.rightdiagnosis.com/r/reiter_s_syndrome/intro.htm right diagnosis reiter syndrome
http://www.fpnotebook.com/rheum/spondylitis/rtrssyndrm.htm family practise note book reiter syndrome
http://www.mdguidelines.com/reiters-syndrome md guidelines reiter syndrome
https://www.symptoma.com/en/info/reiters-syndrome symptoma reiter syndrome
http://www.medbullets.com/step2-3-rheumatology/20724/reactive-arthritis--reiters-syndrome med bullets reiter syndrome
http://www.wheelessonline.com/ortho/reiters_syndrome wheeless online text book of orthopedics reiter syndrome
http://www.microbiologybook.org/fox/reiter1.htm microbiology book reiter syndrome
http://www.merckmanuals.com/professional/musculoskeletal-and-connective-tissue-disorders/joint-disorders/reactive-arthritis merck manuals reactive arthritis
https://www.britannica.com/science/reiter-syndrome britannica reiter syndrome
https://rarediseases.org/rare-diseases/reactive-arthritis/ national organisation for rare diseases reactive arthritis
http://www.pathologyoutlines.com/topic/jointsreiter.html pathology outlines reiter syndrome
Research:
http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=s1413-86702002000100006 braz j infect dis vol.6 no.1 salvador feb. 2002 http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/s1413-86702002000100006 reiter's syndrome associated with the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome: a case report by malta j.b.n.s. et al.,
suresh ps. bilateral disciform keratitis in reiter's syndrome. indian j ophthalmol [serial online] 2016 [cited 2017 jan 2];64:685-7. available from: http://www.ijo.in/text.asp?2016/64/9/685/97088
http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=s1413-86702002000100006 braz j infect dis vol.6 no.1 salvador feb. 2002 http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/s1413-86702002000100006 reiter's syndrome associated with the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome: a case report by malta j.b.n.s., milanelo d.; carvalheiro f.a.r. and silva m.v.
madavamurthy p, hanish vb. reiter's syndrome. indian j dermatol venereol leprol [serial online] 1993 [cited 2017 jan 11];59:197-200. available from: http://www.ijdvl.com/text.asp?1993/59/4/197/3928
khandgave tp, puthran n, kulkarni vn. bilateral disciform keratitis: a rare feature of reiter's syndrome . j clin ophthalmol res [serial online] 2015 [cited 2017 jan 11];3:102-4. available from: http://www.jcor.in/text.asp?2015/3/2/102/156605
Other helpful resources(support groups):
https://prostatitis.org/reiters.html the prostatitis foundation
Related videos:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7vminpo8qog reiter's syndrome - everything you need to know - dr. nabil ebraheim
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mm7wu_yxuqw 98p - what is reiter's syndrome or reactive arthritis?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c2hlf19vtcy reiter's syndrome
http://www.thevisualmd.com/read_videoguide/?idu=1083621818&q=%20infect&p=238 reiter's syndrome - everything you need to know (video)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rdvktlomgua reactive arthritis versus reiter's syndrome
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=agrfgcjcbau reactive arthritis illness script - usmle, medicine, pediatrics board review