Table of contents:

1. Causes and symptoms of SAPHO syndrome
2. Diagnosis, treatment and living with SAPHO syndrome

Causes and symptoms of SAPHO syndrome

SAPHOsyndrome is a disease that in most patients manifests itself by inflammation of the bones and joints, very often accompanied by pustulosis of the feet and hands or acne. Its name is the first letters of the symptoms most commonly seen in patients, i.e. synovitis, acne, pustulosis, hyperostosis, osteitis. To this day, the causes and mechanisms of the development of SAPHO syndrome are still being sought.

Among the factors that can lead to the development of this condition are:

• Excessive emotional tension,
• Prolonged stressful situations,
• Genetic (hereditary) factors,
• Infections suffered during childhood,
• Presence in the blood of the HLA-B27 antigen.

Symptoms characteristic of SAPHO syndrome are:

1. Arthritis (in most cases involving the sternoclavicular, spinal, hand, step and sternocostal cartilage joints). Unfortunately, the disease in 90% of cases involves the entire chest.
2. Bone hypertrophy , most commonly in the bones of the pelvis, sternum, spine and pubic symphysis. This is very often accompanied by thickening and distortion of the bones.
3. Osteoarthritis, involves the thorax, pelvis, spinal bones, femur and tibia. Inflammation of the jawbone may occur. When material is taken for culture, it is mostly sterile. It is therefore unknown what the source of infection is.

Very often in SAPHO syndrome, various skin lesions appear early in the course of the disease, which can be confused with, for example, psoriasis or simple acne.

Skin lesions may occupy the hands and feet. Occasionally they are located on the face. In patients, they appear as scaly pustules or vesicles, approximately 3 cm in diameter. In most cases, patients see a dermatologist, but when the lesions persist, they are referred to other specialists.

In some cases, it is the case that the patient has no skin symptoms, but joint symptoms appear first. On this basis, the patient is referred to a rheumatologist. Skin symptoms appear later or not at all.

Diagnosis, treatment and living with SAPHO syndrome

The diagnosis of SAP HO syndrome involves a series of examinations: determination of the parameters of inflammation in the body (ESR, CRP), complete morphology, radiological examination of the bones and evaluation of the lesions present on the skin (if any). The treatment of SAPHO syndrome proceeds in several stages. Initially, the patient is given anti-inflammatory and analgesic medications, and if these do not work, steroid treatment (oral or intravenous) is initiated.
SAPHO syndrome is not a fatal disease and, importantly, does not lead to any damage to internal organs. It does, however, lead to difficulties in daily life due to the pain experienced by the patient.