Classification of Arthritis and Rheumatism

I – Polyarthritis of unknown etiology

• Rheumatic arthritis
• Juvenile rheumatoid arthritis (Still’s disease)
• Ankylosing spondylitis
• Psoriatic arthritis
• Reiter’s syndrome
• Others

II – Connective tissue disorders

• Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE)
• Polyarteritis nodosa
• Scleroderma (progressive systemic sclerosis)
• Polymyositis and dermatomyositis
• Others

III – Rheumatic fever

IV – Degenerative joint disease (osteoarthritis, osteoarthrosis)

• Primary
• Secondary

V – Nonarticular rheumatism

• Fibrositis
• Intervertebral disk and low back syndromes
• Myositis and myalgia
• Tendinitis and peritendinitis (bursitis)
• Tenosynovitis
• Fasciitis
• Carpal tunnel syndrome
• Others (including VIII – shoulder/hand syndrome)

VI – Diseases frequently associated with arthritis

• Sarcoidosis
• Relapsing polychondritis
• Henoch-Schönlein syndrome
• Ulcerative colitis
• Regional ileitis
• Whipple’s disease
• Sjögren’s syndrome
• Familial Mediterranean fever
• Others (including I – psoriatic arthritis)

VII – Associated with known infectious agents

• Bacterial
  • Borrelia burgdorferi (Lyme disease)
  • Brucella
  • Gonococcus
  • Mycobacterium tuberculosis
  • Pneumococcus
  • Salmonella
  • Staphylococcus
  • Streptobacillus moniliformis (Haverhill fever)
  • Treponema pallidum (syphilis)
  • Treponema pertenue (yaws)
  • Others
• Rickettsial
• Viral
• Fungal
• Parasitic (including III – rheumatic fever)

VIII – Traumatic and/or neurogenic disorders

• Traumatic arthritis (the result of direct trauma)
• Lues (tertiary syphilis)
• Diabetes
• Syringomyelia
• Shoulder-hand syndrome
• Mechanical derangement of joints
• Others (including IV – degenerative joint disease and V – carpal tunnel syndrome)

IX – Associated with biochemical or endocrine abnormalities

• Gout
• Ochronosis
• Hemophilia
• Hemoglobinopathies (e.g,. sickle cell disease)
• Agammaglobulinemia
• Gaucher’s disease
• Hyperparathyroidism
• Acromegaly
• Hypothryroidism
• Scurvy
• Xanthoma tuberosum
• Others (including X – multiple myeloma and Xii – Hurler’s syndrome)

X – Tumor and tumor-like conditions

• Synovioma
• Pigmented villonodular synovitis
• Giant cell tumor of tendon sheath
• Primary juxta-articular bone tumors
• Metastatic
• Leukemia
• Multiple myeloma
• Benign tumors of articular tissue
• Others (including XIII – hypertrophic osteoarthropathy)

XI – Allergy and drug reactions

• Arthritis due to specific allergens (e.g., serum sickness, nightshade vegetables, other foods)
• Arthritis due to drugs (eg. Hydralazine syndrome)
• Others

XII – Inherited and congenital disorders

• Marfan’s syndrome
• Ehlers-Danlos syndrome
• Hurler’s syndrome
• Congenital hip dysplasia
• Morquio’s disease
• Others

XIII – Miscellaneous disorders

• Amyloidosis
• Aseptic necrosis of bone
• Behçet’s syndrome
• Chondrocalcinosis (pseudogout)
• Erythema multiforme (Stevens-Johnson syndrome)
• Erythema nodosum
• Hypertrophic osteoarthropathy
• Juvenile osteochondritis
• Osteochondritis dissecans
• Reticulohistiocytosis of joints (lipoid dermato-arthritis)
• Tietze’s disease
• Others