Monoarthritis, Clinical and Histological Examination

Abstract

Monoarthritis is a common symptom in rheumatological practice. This study comprises 65 patients with monoarthritis having a duration of more than 3 months. The average observation time has been 3 years. The great majority in this material constitute the group with aseptic arthritis. The diagnosis at follow-up was: Benign arthritis 46 cases, villonodular synovitis 7, traumatic arthritis 5, rheumatoid arthritis 4, spondylarthritis anchylopoietica 1, tuberculosis 1, cancer arthritis 1. It is not possible by routine examination to differentiate between benign arthritis and rheumatoid arthritis. Histologically, we found a difference in degree between monoarthritis and classic rheumatoid arthritis evidenced as more pronounced fibrin deposits in rheumatoid arthritis. Comparison between operated and non-operated patients is not possible in this material. The prognosis seems to be good; 76% had no symptoms after 3 years. Gorm Rasmussen Orthopedic Hospital Copenhagen Denmark