Intermittent Hydrarthrosis, Rare, Unknown, Underdiagnosed and Forgotten: First report in Gambia
Asmell Ramos Cabrera, Mayelin Martinez, Rainier Paulino, Yamilet Hinojosa, Kehinde O Oduntan, Onyia Onyema, Jennifer Shallop
The first report of intermittent hydrarthrosis (IH) was made by Perrin in 1845; However, despite the
simplicity of the symptoms and signs that characterize it, it is considered a rare disease, presumably
its pathophysiology is autoinflammatory and of uncertain etiology. According to the number of reports
published to date, the description of new cases remains extremely low. The chronicity and periodicity
of the attacks of joint swelling, the tropism for the affected joint, almost always the knee, as well as
the complete recovery without sequela after each attack, constitutes its characteristic hallmark. The
simplicity of the clinical picture is at the same time the greatest obstacle to establishing the definitive
diagnosis. Considering that there are no diagnostic criteria, it is necessary to exclude all conditions with
a similar pattern, making the list large and complex. During the review of the literature, no references
of publications of black patients were found, nor reports on the African continent. We decided to present
the first case of intermittent hydrarthrosis in The Gambia and to date in the entire subregion.
