We describe our experience in handling six cases of pyogenic sacroiliitis. Two were males and four were females with a mean age of 24.9 years. None had a history of i.v. drug abuse. Blood cultures were positive in half of the patients. The sacroiliac joint aspirate was positive in one additional patient. Staphylococcus aureus was recovered from three of four culture positive cases. Bone and CT scans revealed abnormalities in all patients. Response to antibiotic therapy was satisfactory in all except one patient who had an early relapse. Early diagnoses and proper treatment would result in improved outcomes.

Objective: The aim of this study was to determine the demographic, clinical, and immunological characteristics of patients with systemic sclerosis living in Qatar. Method: This retrospective study included 42 patients with systemic sclerosis who attended Rheumatology Clinics at Hamad General Hospital in Doha, Qatar, between January 2000 and December 2014. All patients fulfilled the 1980 American College of Rheumatology (ACR) classification criteria for systemic sclerosis. Results: The 42 consecutively recruited patients of mixed ethnicities consisted of 37 (88.1%) females and 5 (11.9%) males. Of the total 42 patients, 22 (52.4%) had diffuse cutaneous systemic sclerosis (dcSSc) and 20 (47.6%) had limited cutaneous systemic sclerosis (lcSSc). Mean age at onset of first symptoms was 34.5 ± 12 years, and mean age at diagnosis was 36.1 ± 11.5 years. During follow-up, Raynaud's phenomenon occurred in 36 (85.7%) patients, sclerodactyly in 39 (92.9%) patients, digital ulcers in 16 (38.1%) patients, calcinosis in 6 (14.3%) patients, telangiectasia in 16 (38.1%) patients, and arthritis in 13 (31%) patients. The gastrointestinal and respiratory systems were the most frequently affected internal organs. Gastrointestinal involvement was present in 36 (85.7%) patients, and respiratory involvement was found in 30 (71.4%) patients. The majority of patients had positive antinuclear antibodies (ANA; 97.6%). Anti-Scl-70 antibody was found in 66.7% and anti-centromere antibody (ACA) was detected in 14.3% of the patients. Conclusion: To our knowledge, this is the first study that describes the clinical and immunological profile of patients with systemic sclerosis living in Qatar. This study cohort showed an earlier age of disease onset and diagnosis than that reported in other international studies. Furthermore, in contrast to several other studies, the diffuse type of scleroderma was more commonly observed than the limited type, which resulted in a high frequency of anti-Scl-70 antibody and interstitial lung disease.

Objectives-To report two patients who developed reactive arthritis in association with Staphylococcus aureus infection. Methods-A review of the case notes of two patients. Results-Two adult female patients have developed sterile arthritis in association with Staph aureus infection. The first patient has had two episodes of arthritis; the first followed olecranon bursitis, the second followed infection of a central venous catheter used for dialysis. The second patient developed sterile arthritis while being treated for pyomyositis. Both patients had a self limited arthritis and were HLA-B27 negative. Conclusion-Reactive arthritis may rarely follow Staph aureus infection. HLA-B27 negativity may be associated with a self limited arthritis in these cases.

It is concluded that polytendonitis, tenosynovitis, and enthesitis are common presentations in PSRA and could be the only manifestation of poststreptococcal infection.

Spinal involvement in spondyloarthropathy is characterized by inflammation concentrated at the site of bony insertion of ligaments and bones. These inflammatory sites show a peculiar tendency towards prominent fibrosis, ossification and new bone formation (syndesmophytes). The syndesmophytes arise either at the margins of intervertebral disc and these are called marginal syndesmophytes as in ankylosing spondylitis, or from the vertebral bodies beyond their corners and are called nonmarginal syndesmophytes as in psoriatic arthritis and Reiter's syndrome (1,2). In some references and in the European literature, the term 'syndesmophyte' is usually reserved for the vertical ossification that bridges two adjacent vertebrae in ankylosing spondylitis (3). Syndesmophytes predominate on the anterior and lateral aspect of the spine (1-3). We report a patient with undifferentiated spondyloarthropathy with posterior syndesmophytes resulting in symptomatic spinal stenosis.