SAPHO Syndrome

SAPHO Syndrome General Information

This chronic medical disorder (that is commonly referred to by health care providers as SAPHO Syndrome) is a medical condition that affects the patient’s joints, bones and / or skin. The term “SAPHO” is known to be an eponym (abbreviation) for the combination of several clinical illnesses: synovitis (S), acne (A), pustulosis (P), hyperostosis (H), and osteitis (O). We will now present you a set of specific information regarding the most common information that you should be aware of that involves these medical disorders. Synovitis is a common inflammatory medical disorder that affects the synovium (the lining of the joint).

Acne is a very common medical disorder that affects the skin. Its main characteristic is the presence of inflamed tiny areas of the skin that are accompanied by pus formation (especially in the area that surrounds the follicles of the hair). It generally affects the patient’s upper back and his or her skin. Pustulosis is a severe inflammation that generally affects the patient’s palms and his or her soles. The main symptom of this clinical condition is the presence of pustules (large blister-like skin areas that are filled with fluid). Patients generally confirm that the skin of the pustules exfoliates and / or peels. Hyperostosis is a medical illness that is associated with an excessive growth rate of the individual’s bones. If the presence of this disorder is due to the SAPHO Syndrome, the effects of this disease are generally located at the attachment place of the tendons. Osteitis is “translated” as an inflammatory disorder of the bones. Individuals who have been diagnosed with this disorder as part of the more complex syndrome that this article describes may experience inflammation of the sacroiliac joints and / or inflammation of the spine.

SAPHO Syndrome Symptoms

In this chapter, we aim to provide you with a list of the most common clinical manifestations that may be associated with the presence of this clinical condition (SAPHO Syndrome). It is a known fact that most individuals who have been diagnosed with this medical illness will present a combination of the common symptoms that are triggered by the 5 clinical diseases that, combined, determine the development of this syndrome.

Most individuals who have suffered from this medical disorder (commonly referred to as SAPHO Syndrome) present symptoms and / or signs such as the following: acne fulminans, acne conglobata, hydradenitis suppurativa, sterno-costo-clavicular hyperostosis, exfoliating pustules that may be located either on the patient’s palms or on his or her soles,  spondyloarthropathy, various type of skin lesions,  chronic osteomyelitis, and so on. However, these are not all the possible clinical manifestations that may be associated with the presence of this syndrome. For example, in rarer cases of patients who have been diagnosed with this clinical illness (SAPHO Syndrome), symptoms such as anterior chest lesions, sacroilitis syndesmophytes, inflammation of joint lining, oligoarthritis, neck pain, back pain, stiffness of the back, stiffness of the neck, and so on. If you present any of the symptoms that we have listed in this chapter, you should immediately seek professional medical help.

Your personal health care provider will ask you to undergo a detailed clinical examination and possibly further medical evaluations in order to determine whether the true cause of your unpleasant signs is the presence of this syndrome or that of any other medical disorder. If you want to know further details regarding the potential symptoms that may be triggered by this disorder, their severity, and so on, you should seek professional medical assistance.

SAPHO Syndrome Treatment

The most common therapy options that are employed in the fight against this clinical disorder (which is commonly referred to as SAPHO Syndrome) depends on the average clinical manifestations of this disease that the individual is suffering from. However, the most employed treatment option against such a medical disorder is medication therapy. The intake of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medical products has proven to offer the patient great benefits in dealing with his or her medical condition. Furthermore, some patients who have followed a therapy with a certain type of corticosteroid medicine have also reported significant clinical improvement of their symptoms. The patient’s Cortisone medication may be prescribed in various medical forms. For example, while some individuals are recommended the use of the injection form of this medicine, others have to start the intake of Cortisone tablets, or the use of topical creams that are based on the same active ingredients. The unpleasant symptoms that may be due to the presence of SAPHO Syndrome may also be effectively managed with topical cold applications.

However, if the patient’s response to such therapy options is not satisfactory enough, his or her personal health care provider should consider the use of other treatment trials. In such clinical cases, the individual who is suffering from SAPHO Syndrome will probably start a therapy with Sulfasalazine. However, other patients have started to use other medications, including Methotrexate. The use of similar medical products has offered mixed results. They are generally employed in the case of patients who are known to present persistent, disturbing joint clinical manifestations. Your personal health care provider should be able to provide you with further information regarding this matter. Do not hesitate to ask for his or her professional assistance in case you have any questions regarding your medical disorder, the way in which your therapy option should assist you in dealing with your symptoms (that are due to the presence of the SAPHO Syndrome), and so on.

Most patients who are suffering from this clinical syndrome start the intake of various medical products that are employed in reducing the unpleasant symptoms of SAPHO Syndrome. Most therapy options of this kind focus on reducing (easing) the patient’s inflammation, that may affect various tissues of his or her organism. The most common medical products that are employed for this purpose include the following drugs: Aspirin, Naproxen, Ibuprofen, and other NSAIDs. The presence of other medical disorders may prevent you from starting a particular therapy option. For this reason, before your health care provider recommends you any of the therapy options that we have listed above, he or she will probably ask you to undergo a set of clinical evaluations in order to check your general health condition.