Chronic inflammatory arthritis may cause subluxation of the cervical spine.^1,2 Risk factors for this complication include the presence of rheumatoid factor and severe peripheral joint disease.^3–7

The reported prevalence of cervical involvement in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) varies widely from 17% to 88%.^7–9 In early RA^5,6,10 cervical involvement is much less common, and a recent trial suggested that it might be further reduced with the use of early aggressive treatment for RA.⁵ The present cross sectional study assesses the prevalence and clinical significance of cervical spine involvement as encountered in our early arthritis clinic, which includes patients with peripheral arthritis …