Abstract

Juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) is defined as arthritis of unknown cause that starts before 16 years of age and lasts at least 6 weeks. It is the most common chronic inflammatory disease in childhood and often persists through adulthood and can lead to severe disability. Biologics are an important therapeutic option for treating patients with JIA. The efficiency of rituximab has not been proven for this indication. Its use has rarely been reported in the literature.

We report two new cases of severe and refractory polyarticular JIA with positive rheumatoid factor affecting two African females aged 17 and 18 years successfully treated with rituximab. According to our experience, the use of rituximab in the treatment of JIA, especially in severe polyarticular forms with positive rheumatoid factor, might be a good alternative. Larger therapeutic trials should be conducted in this direction in order to prove the effectiveness of this biotherapy for this indication.