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Definition
By Mayo Clinic staffReactive arthritis is a condition triggered by an infection that occurs in another part of your body — most often your intestines, genitals or urinary tract.
Painful and swollen joints are a defining feature of reactive arthritis, which typically targets the knees, ankles and feet. Reactive arthritis can also cause inflammation in your eyes, skin and the tube that carries urine from your bladder (urethra).
Reactive arthritis is also sometimes called Reiter syndrome, although this term more accurately refers to a subtype of reactive arthritis that primarily affects the joints, eyes and urethra.
Reactive arthritis occurs in about 30 people per 100,000. For most people, signs and symptoms of reactive arthritis come and go, eventually disappearing within 12 months.
- Reiter's syndrome and reactive arthritis. In: Noble J, et al. Textbook of Primary Care Medicine. 3rd ed. St. Louis, Mo.: Mosby; 2001. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/114024667-3/784198713/959/880.html#4-u1.0-B0-323-00828-3..50142-4--cesec10_4248. Accessed Dec. 17, 2008.
- Yu DT. Reactive arthritis (formerly Reiter syndrome). http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Dec. 17, 2008.
- Questions and answers about reactive arthritis. National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases. http://www.niams.nih.gov/Health_Info/Reactive_Arthritis/default.asp. Accessed Dec. 17, 2008.
- Leirisalo-Repo M, et al. Reactive arthritis. In: Firestein GS, et al. Kelley's Textbook of Rheumatology. 8th ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: W.B. Saunders; 2008. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/114235812-3/784844632/1807/526.html#4-u1.0-B978-1-4160-3285-4..10071-3--s0160_2594. Accessed Dec. 19, 2008.
- Septic arthritis. American Association for Clinical Chemistry. http://www.labtestsonline.org/understanding/conditions/septic.html. Accessed Dec. 19, 2008.
- Questions and answers about gout. National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases. http://www.niams.nih.gov/Health_Info/Gout/default.asp. Dec. 19, 2008.
