Juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) is a collection of several forms of chronic arthritis seen in children.
- JIA is the most common rheumatologic pathology diagnosed in children.
- Clinical definition. JIA is defined as a joint swelling with the following characteristics:
- Occuring before the age of 16
- Persisting more than 6 weeks
- Unexplained by any other cause (i.e. diagnosis of exclusion)
- Etiology. As its name suggests, this group of diseases is idiopathic.
- Genetics. Associated with HLA-B27.
- Classification. JIA can be classified into 7