The experience of children and adolescents with juvenile idiopathic arthritis

Chronically ill children show an increased risk of developing a psychological-psychiatric disorder, with an important impact on their quality of life. The paper describes all the cases of Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis (JIA) in the Paediatric Rheumatology Unit in Ravenna with documented psychological-behavioural problems. 23% of juvenile idiopathic arthritis patients have psychological-behavioural problems and 9% have requested cognitivebehavioural therapy, with good results. One of the most significant aspects is the treatment with methotrexate (MTX), which is an important drug in the management of JIA cases and, as it is known, is burdened with side effects such as malaise and vomiting, even before its intake. Half of the patients on MTX therapy show this "intolerance", which sometimes also leads to the voluntary withdrawal of the drug. Therefore, an anticipatory approach to these issues and an adequate and timely psychological care are increasingly necessary.