Aim: Adult-onset Still's disease (AOSD) is a rare disease. Very few cases have been reported from the South-Asian region so the aim of this study is to assess the clinical and laboratory aspects of 15 patients with AOSD in a tertiary referral hospital in Karachi.
Methods: Retrospective data was collected from all patients diagnosed using Yamaguchi criteria for AOSD between January 2004 and December 2010 at Jinnah Medical College Hospital, Karachi.
Results: Data of 15 patients with AOSD were analyzed. Their ages ranged from 17 to 55 years, the male-to-female ratio being 6:1. The most common clinical features were fever and articular symptoms (100%), sore throat (60%), rash (53.3%), weight loss (93.3%), lymphadenopathy (40%) and elevated erythrocyte sedimentation rate (86.7%). All patients had leukocytosis with counts>20,000/mm 3 were seen in 40%. Elevated liver enzymes were present in 80% of the case series and hyperferritinemia in 100% with a mean of 3,962 ng/mL (range 555-13,865). Ambiguity in presentation and lack of serologic markers make diagnosis of AOSD difficult as 40% of patients were receiving empirical anti-tuberculous therapy prior to final diagnosis.
Conclusion: It is necessary for physicians to have a high index of suspicion for AOSD in patients with high-grade fever, arthralgia and leukocytosis.
© 2012 The Authors International Journal of Rheumatic Diseases © 2012 Asia Pacific League of Associations for Rheumatology and Wiley Publishing Asia Pty Ltd.