Polyarthritis is any type of

arthritis Arthritis is a general medical term used to describe a disorder that affects joints. Symptoms generally include joint pain and stiffness. Other symptoms may include redness, warmth, Joint effusion, swelling, and decreased range of motion of ...

that involves 5 or more joints simultaneously. It can be associated with autoimmune conditions; it may be experienced at any age and is not sex specific.

Causes

Polyarthritis is often caused by an auto-immune disorder such as

rheumatoid arthritis Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a long-term autoimmune disorder that primarily affects synovial joint, joints. It typically results in warm, swollen, and painful joints. Pain and stiffness often worsen following rest. Most commonly, the wrist and h ...

psoriatic arthritis Psoriatic arthritis (PsA) is a long-term inflammatory arthritis that may occur in some people affected by the autoimmune disease psoriasis. The classic features of psoriatic arthritis include dactylitis (sausage-like swelling of the fingers ...

, and

lupus erythematosus is a collection of autoimmune diseases in which the human immune system becomes hyperactive and attacks healthy tissues. Symptoms of these diseases can affect many different body systems, including joints, skin, kidneys, blood cells, heart, ...

, or other inflammatory rheumatic diseases, like crystal arthropathies. It can also be caused by

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving Cell growth#Disorders, abnormal cell growth with the potential to Invasion (cancer), invade or Metastasis, spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Po ...

or various medications. Another cause of polyarthritis is infection, which may be viral or

bacterial Bacteria (; : bacterium) are ubiquitous, mostly free-living organisms often consisting of one biological cell. They constitute a large domain of prokaryotic microorganisms. Typically a few micrometres in length, bacteria were among the ...

. Viruses that cause polyarthritis include alphaviruses, such as

chikungunya virus Chikungunya is an infection caused by the chikungunya virus (CHIKV). The disease was first identified in 1952 in Tanzania and named based on the Kimakonde words for "to become contorted". Chikungunya has become a global health concern due to ...

, Sindbis virus and Ross River virus. Arthritis caused by bacterial infection of the joint is termed

septic arthritis Acute septic arthritis, infectious arthritis, suppurative arthritis, pyogenic arthritis, osteomyelitis, or joint infection is the invasion of a joint by an infectious agent resulting in joint inflammation. Generally speaking, symptoms typica ...

and does not commonly affect multiple joints. It may notably be caused by ''

gonococcus ''Neisseria gonorrhoeae'', also known as ''gonococcus'' (singular) or ''gonococci'' (plural), is a species of Gram-negative diplococci bacteria first isolated by Albert Neisser in 1879. An obligate human pathogen, it primarily colonizes the m ...

''. Bacteria can also cause polyarthritis not by directly infecting the joints; instead, infection located elsewhere in the body can cause

immune reaction An immune response is a physiological reaction which occurs within an organism in the context of inflammation for the purpose of defending against exogenous factors. These include a wide variety of different toxins, viruses, intra- and extracellula ...

, which becomes the direct cause of the inflammation of joints. This form or arthritis is called reactive and often coexists with inflammation of the urethra, and of the conjuctiva in the eye.

References

{{Diseases of the musculoskeletal system and connective tissue Arthritis

Causes

See also

References