METHODS
A retrospective case review was performed with identification of all
patients from a single tertiary care center providing service throughout
the Midwest region. Patients were identified from electronic medical
records from January 2003 to July 2021 with the diagnostic codes for
systemic juvenile idiopathic arthritis and with diagnostic codes for
interstitial lung disease, dyspnea, or hypoxemia at any time throughout
their lifetime. A total of 134 patients were identified to have both a
diagnosis of sJIA and at least one of the above respiratory complaints;
9 were confirmed on manual chart review to have true interstitial lung
disease related to sJIA. Of these 9 patients, they had to meet both the
International League of Associations for Rheumatology (ILAR) criteria
for sJIA from two different pediatric rheumatology reviewers and meet
criteria for ChILD from two different pediatric pulmonology reviewers11. Race/ethnicity data were obtained via review of
medical records and were categorized by self-identified ethnicity as
well as self-identification with Hispanic/Latino or Non-Hispanic/Latino
origin. The case series was reviewed by the Children’s Mercy
Institutional Review Board and an exemption was granted.