Reactive Arthritis – A Rare Complication of Intravesical BCG Instillation

Authors

• Marta Freixa Department of Internal Medicine, Hospital Pulido Valente, Centro Hospitalar Universitário Lisboa Norte, Lisboa, Portugal
• Sara Úria Department of Internal Medicine, Hospital Pulido Valente, Centro Hospitalar Universitário Lisboa Norte, Lisboa, Portugal
• Glória Nunes da Silva Department of Internal Medicine, Hospital Pulido Valente, Centro Hospitalar Universitário Lisboa Norte, Lisboa, Portugal

marta.freixa90@gmail.com

Keywords

Abstract

Reactive arthritis (ReA) with the classic triad of arthritis, conjunctivitis and urethritis, previously termed Reiter’s syndrome, is a systemic illness, usually induced by genitourinary or gastrointestinal infections. However, it can be a rare complication of intravesical Bacillus Calmette-Guérin instillation (iBCG), a therapy prepared from attenuated strains of Mycobacterium bovis, a common and effective treatment for carcinoma in situ of the bladder (CisB). We report a case of a patient with CisB who developed ReA after iBCG. The symptoms resolved completely with corticosteroids. iBCG was stopped with no recurrence of carcinoma within 2 years.