Rheumatoid arthritis could be very hard to identify in its early phase since there’s no test to detect it. The symptoms of RA may vary from one patient to another and can even imitates other conditions in the joints. Consequently, health care providers utilize several means and tools in diagnosing rheumatoid arthritis.
1. Medical history. Parts of the medical history would include symptoms experienced such as loss of appetite, fatigue, joint stiffness in the morning, pain, and swelling. If the symptoms persist for more than six weeks, then the doctors may presume of diagnosing RA on him.
2. Physical examination. Part of the physical examination is assessing the functionality and flexibility of the joints, skin conditions, and muscle strength.
3. Laboratory Tests. The following are the specific tests and studies in diagnosing rheumatoid arthritis:
*CBC: The doctors might order a complete blood count test. This test is to assess the count of the particular elements of the blood because it is not rare for RA patients to have some discrepancies in their blood. RA patients’ blood may usually show abnormal WBC results in the CBC test.
*CRP and ESR: When RA is diagnosed, physicians might as well order blood tests like C-reactive protein (CRP) or erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR). CRP and ESR tests are utilized to detect swelling in the body, check the disease progression, and detect bodily responses to therapeutic regimens.
*Imaging Studies: Health care practitioners make use of x-rays and other imaging studies like MRI to assess the severity of the joints damage. Most of the time, the damage in the joints are caused by normal X-rays results since the early sign is unnoticeable. Therefore, X-rays have some flaws in the results when diagnosing rheumatoid arthritis. But early X-rays are then ordered by the physician to track on the progress of the disease and the patient body’s reaction to the treatment rendered,.
*Rheumatoid factor. The body’s immune system releases a protein material called rheumatoid factor. In fact, 80% of RA patients have rheumatoid factor in their bloodstream. When the patient obtain positive result, the physician may know the severity and complication of the rheumatoid arthritis by determining the amount of RF present in the blood. But a positive test doesn’t always mean that the patient has RA, and similarly, a negative test doesn’t mean a patient doesn’t have RA. The results of rheumatoid factor is necessary to be assessed and evaluated by the physician.
The different imaging studies and blood tests are mostly used by many physicians to diagnosis, and to render proper management for patients with rheumatoid arthritis.