An analysis of 160 patients with Reiter's disease, 144 with yersinia arthritis, and 9 with salmonella arthritis was performed. Complete or incomplete Reiter's syndrome was observed in one‐third of the patients with yersinia arthritis and in most of those with salmonella arthritis. During the followup period, chronic back pain and joint symptoms were frequent in all the patient groups. Patients who were HLA—B27 positive had a more severe acute disease (more frequent back pain, urologic symptoms, mucocutaneous manifestations, and a longer duration of the disease) and more frequent chronic back pain and sacroiliitis.

We surgically treated 16 patients with Bertolotti's syndrome (chronic, persistent low back pain and radiographically diagnosed transitional lumbar vertebra). Eight had posterolateral fusion and another eight resection of the transitional articulation. Thirteen patients had in addition to the chronic low back pain, suffered from repeated episodes or chronic sciatica. In six cases with resection treatment, local injections were administered at the transitional articulation before deciding for resection of the transitional joint; each patient reported transient relief of pain, while this preoperative test did not correlate with successful outcome of treatment. Six patients had to be treated with second operations. Ten of the 16 operatively treated patients showed improvement of the low back pain, and this result was similar in the group treated with fusion and in that treated with resection. Seven had no low back pain at follow-up, and the improvement according to the Oswestry pain scale was similar in the two groups, and statistically significant. Eleven patients still had persisting episodes of sciatica (versus 13 preoperatively). The average disability according to the Oswestry total disability scale was 30%, corresponding with moderate outcome, and both operatively treated groups did equally well. At follow-up the first disc above the fused segments was found to be degenerated in seven out of eight cases, and in the group treated with resection the first disc above the transitional vertebra was degenerated in five cases.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Eighty‐five patients with acute Yersinia arthritis were seen in followup for a mean of 10 years. During that time, peripheral joint symptoms occurred frequently (51.8%), but these symptoms were mild (45.9%). Development of a new reactive arthritis (4.7%) or chronic arthritis (2.4%) was uncommon. One‐third of the patients experienced low back pain, and one‐third of the patients had radiologic evidence of sacroiliitis. The presence of sacroiliitis was more frequent in patients with low back pain (46.7%) than in those who did not have symptoms (21.2%). More patients with HLA–B27 had low back pain and sacroiliitis, but there was no association of this genetic factor with the residual symptoms in peripheral joints.

Enhanced MR imaging seems to be a useful examination in patients with SSNHL. The aim should not be only to exclude specific retrocochlear etiologies, but by appropriate techniques, MRI could reveal both peripheral and central abnormalities.