A case of seronegative spondylarthropathy with iritis and retroperitoneal fibrosis]

In 1985 a 41-year old male visited a local hospital because of congestion in the bulbar conjunctiva, which was diagnosed as iritis. In August 1990, right coxalgia and arthralgia of metatarsophalangeal joints appeared, with recurrence of iritis. In October, stiffness in the hands and arthralgia of proximal interphalangeal joints also started. In July 1991, the right coxalgia worsened, resulting in walking difficulty. He was admitted to the Kitasato University Hospital. He presented with bilateral iritis, polyarthritis with limited ranges of motion and sacroilitis. The Schober's test was positive at 3 cm. Serological tests for rheumatoid factor and HLA-B 27 were negative. Abdominal computer tomographic scan revealed low density lesion around the aorta. PSL 10 mg was initiated, and iritis and arthritis remitted. Progression of the periaortic lesion was not observed during the subsequent 5 years. In this case, iritis preceded limited ranges of motion in the vertebrae and sacroilitis. From these findings, seronegative spondylarthropathy with peripheral arthritis was diagnosed. The periaortic lesion seen in this case probably corresponds to chronic periaortitis recently reported as a subset of idiopathic retroperitoneal fibrosis. The two lesions observed in the present case may be interpreted as caused by inflammation of the connective tissue initially either at the vertebrae or around the aorta, which had advanced to involve the other lesion.