The child patient

The child with a rheumatic disease often presents a diagnostic and therapeutic challenge. A broad knowledge of paediatric development and rheumatic diseases of childhood, as well as the ability to work through a diverse paediatric differential diagnosis, is required to properly evaluate children presenting with musculoskeletal or rheumatic complaints. Extensive work has been done in recent years to improve the definitions of the various childhood rheumatic diseases and define the disease course and outcomes.