American College of Rheumatology – Pediatric Rheumatology

View all recommendations from this society

Released October 27, 2013

Don’t routinely perform surveillance joint radiographs to monitor juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) disease activity.

There are no available data to suggest that routinely obtaining surveillance joint radiographs to monitor for the development or progression of erosive changes in children with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) improves outcomes. Radiation exposure and cost are potential risks. In the absence of data to support clear benefit, radiographs should be obtained by the pediatric rheumatologist only when history and physical exam raise clinical concern about joint damage or decline in function.

These items are provided solely for informational purposes and are not intended as a substitute for consultation with a medical professional. Patients with any specific questions about the items on this list or their individual situation should consult their physician.

How The List Was Created

The American College of Rheumatology (ACR) used a multi-stage process combining consensus methodology and literature reviews to arrive at its Pediatric Rheumatology Top 5 list. Items were generated by a group of practicing pediatric rheumatologists using the Delphi method. Items with high content agreement and perceived prevalence advanced to a survey of ACR members who listed pediatric rheumatology as their specialty. Based on member input related to content agreement, impact and item ranking, candidate items advanced to literature review. The ACR Special Committee on Pediatric Rheumatology discussed the items in light of their relevance to rheumatology, level of evidence to support their inclusion in the final list and the member survey results, and drafted the final pediatric rheumatology Top 5 list. The list was reviewed and approved by the ACR Board of Directors.

ACR’s disclosure and conflict of interest policy can be found at www.rheumatology.org.

ACR Special Committee on Pediatric Rheumatology

  • Polly Ferguson, MD, Chair – University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine, Iowa City, IA
  • Stacy Ardoin, MD – Ohio State University, Columbus, OH
  • Mara Becker, MD – Children’s Mercy Hospital, Kansas City, MO
  • Ashley Cooper, MD – University of Texas Southwestern Medical School, Dallas, TX
  • Leonard Dragone, MD, PhD – National Jewish Hospital, Denver, CO
  • Anna Huttenlocher, MD – University of Wisconsin Medical School, Madison, WI
  • Karla Jones, RN, MS, CPNP – Nationwide Children’s Hospital, Columbus, OH
  • Karen Kolba, MD – Pacific Arthritis Center, Santa Maria, CA
  • Lakshmi Moorthy, MD, MS – Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, New Brunswick, NJ
  • Peter Nigrovic, MD – Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, MA
  • Kelly Rouster-Stevens, MD – Emory Children’s Center, Atlanta, GA
  • Jennifer Stinson, RN, PhD, CPNP – The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, CA

American College of Rheumatology Pediatric Rheumatology Core Membership Group*

* Members of the Core Membership Group included: Robert Colbert, MD, PhD, Randy Cron, MD, PhD, Peter Dent, MD, Melissa Elder, MD, PhD, Don Goldsmith, MD, Roger Hollister, MD, Norman Ilowite, MD, Yukiki Kimura, MD, Marisa Klein-Gittelman, MD, MPH, Erica Lawson, MD, Murray Passo, MD, Ross Petty, MD, PhD, Marilynn Punaro, MD, Egla Rabinovich, MD, MPH, Andreas Reiff, MD, David Sherry, MD, Larry Zemel, MD.

Sources

Beukelman T, Patkar NM, Saag KG, et al. 2011 American College of Rheumatology recommendations for the treatment of juvenile idiopathic arthritis: initiation and safety monitoring of therapeutic agents for the treatment of arthritis and systemic features. Arthritis Care Res. 2011;63:465–82.

Magni-Manzoni S, Rossi F, Pistorio A, Temporini F, Viola S, Beluffi G, Martini A, Ravelli A. Prognostic factors for radiographic progression, radiographic damage, and disability in juvenile idiopathic arthritis. Arthritis Rheum. 2003;48:3509–17.

Magni-Manzoni S, Malattia C, Lanni S, Ravelli A. Advances and challenges in imaging in juvenile idiopathic arthritis. Nat Rev Rheumatol. 2012;8:329–36.

Yazici Y, Sokka T, Pincus T. Radiographic measures to assess patients with rheumatoid arthritis advantages and limitations. Rheum Dis Clin North Am. 2009;35:723.

Okkalides D, Fotakis M. Patient effective dose resulting from radiographic examinations. Br J Radiol 1994;67:564–72.