Long-term follow-up of 109 children with juvenile idiopathic oligoarthritis after first intra-articular corticosteroid injection

To evaluate long-term outcomes and prognostic factors in patients with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA), presenting as oligoarthritis, who received IAC as the first treatment for their disease. We conducted retrospective study at the University Children’s Hospital Ljubljana, Slovenia, from January 2015 to May 2023 in children with JIA, clinically presenting as oligoarthritis receiving intra-articular corticosteroid injection (IAC) as the initial treatment. Patient and treatment data were collected, and the outcomes were categorized into three groups based on the later need for therapy: no therapy needed, only additional IAC needed and systemic therapy needed. The last group was further divided based on the requirement of bDMARD. Log-rank (Mantel-Cox) survival analyses compared different outcome groups. We included 109 patients with JIA, presenting as oligoarthritis (63