Introduction:

Post-chikungunya virus (CHIKV) chronic arthritis is a common complication of the acute infection caused by this virus, with high risk of progression to functional and quality of life sequelae.

Objective:

To identify the clinical and immunological characteristics, functional disabilities, and quality of life decline in a sample of Colombian patients with chronic arthropathy associated with chikungunya virus (CHIKV).

Methods:

A group of 94 patients was evaluated in a City in Colombia during the CHIKV epidemics from 2014 to 2015.

Results:

The mean age of the 94 patients was 57 years; 76% were women, and 100% came from low socioeconomic groups. Typically, the joint disease was symmetrical, with joint swelling present in 30% of the cases, mostly involving the small and large joints of the upper limbs. Rheumatoid factor was positive in 1.06% and anti-citrulline antibodies in 0%. There were detectable levels of IL6 in 64.9%, and IL 17 in 7.45% of the patients. The severity of disease activity was determined using the DAS28 score, identifying 55.3% with moderate activity, 40.4% with mild activity, and 4.2% with high activity. The HAQ-DI identified a moderate functional limitation in 45.7% of the cases, with a mean score of 1.02. The quality of life measured with the SF-36 scale showed that all of the domains evaluated were affected but pain and the physical and emotional domains were significantly more affected.

Conclusions:

Patients with post-chikungunya chronic arthritis, presented in most cases arthralgia, arthritis, functional impairment, and poor quality of life. It is then necessary to adopt comprehensive therapeutic measures for a sound intervention of this pathology.

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