A rare pleiotropic auto-inflammatory disorder of childhood, primarily affecting the joints and skin. The first affected family contained ten affected members from three generations and manifested variable expression of a pauciarticular, nonaxial, arthritis that began in childhood; pyoderma gangrenosum; and severe cystic acne in adolescence and beyond. Recurrent sterile arthritis usually occurs after minor trauma, but can also occur spontaneously. PAPA syndrome is a self-limiting disease, but it can lead to severe joint destruction. The gene responsible for the syndrome is the proline-serine-threonine phosphatase interacting protein 1 (PSTPIP1).