Kristīne Rasa

A pediatric rheumatologist is a specialist who works with pediatric patients suspected of having inflammatory diseases that primarily affect the musculoskeletal or connective tissue systems.

Consults children and adolescents up to 18 years of age who have:

• Prolonged or recurrent joint pain, swelling, redness, or limited movement
• Morning stiffness in joints (especially if lasting >30–60 min), limping
• Suspected inflammatory joint diseases (e.g., juvenile idiopathic arthritis)
• Muscle pain, weakness, or signs of inflammation
• Unexplained prolonged or recurrent fever, especially in combination with rashes or joint/muscle pain
• Autoinflammatory diseases (periodic fevers, PFAPA, genetic fever syndromes, etc.)
• Autoimmune diseases (systemic lupus erythematosus, vasculitis, dermatomyositis, etc.)
• Connective tissue diseases and syndromes with joint hypermobility, if there is pain or functional impairment
• Unexplained changes in laboratory tests (elevated CRP, ESR, autoantibodies) together with clinical complaints
• Complications or side effects in patients already receiving immunomodulatory therapy for rheumatological diseases.

Dr. Kristīne Rasa is a pediatric rheumatologist and pediatrician with her primary position at the Children's Clinical University Hospital. She also works as a lecturer at the Department of Pediatrics at Rīga Stradiņš University.

Her basic education was obtained at Rīga Stradiņš University, and her clinical experience has been supplemented at foreign clinics (at the Center for Rheumatology and Autoinflammatory Diseases in Italy, and at a rheumatology clinic in Sweden).

She is a member of the Latvian Pediatric Rheumatology Association, the European Paediatric Rheumatology Society (PReS), and the PReS EMERGE group. She actively participates in international research projects, conferences, and courses in the field of pediatric rheumatology.