A case series and review of Poncet's disease, and the utility of current diagnostic criteria

Abstract

Aim: Poncet's disease is a well recognized form of reactive arthritis in the presence of extra-articular tuberculosis. There are very limited case reports even from countries where tuberculosis is common and there are no accepted diagnostic criteria for Poncet's disease. In the present study we are describing clinical features of Poncet's disease from a tuberculosis-endemic region along with a proposal of a new diagnostic criteria.

Methods: All patients diagnosed as having Poncet's disease were included. The clinical details, demographic features, pattern of joint involvement, investigation findings, treatment details and clinical outcomes were recorded on a structured pro forma.

Results: Twenty-three patients with Poncet's disease were identified during the study period. Thirteen patients had oligoarthritis and the rest had polyarthritis with ankle joint involvement being most common. The duration of joint symptoms varied from 3 days to 6 years. All patients had non-erosive and non-deforming arthritis. Systemic symptoms were absent in 48% of patients. Mantoux was positive in most cases (81%). Tuberculosis was extrapulmonary in most cases, lymph node tuberculosis being most common. All patients had complete resolution of joint symptoms with anti-tubercular treatment. All the factors contributing to eventual diagnosis of Poncet's disease were carefully analyzed and diagnostic criteria are proposed. In the proposed criteria, there are two essential, two major and three minor criteria. According to these criteria 19 patients had definite and three had probable Poncet's disease.

Conclusion: The most common presentation of Poncet's is in the form of oligoarthritis. The proposed criteria can be used for diagnosing Poncet's disease.

Keywords: Poncet's disease; arthritis; tuberculosis.