Rheumatoid arthritis is a severe inflammatory disorder that normally strikes on joints in your feet as well as hands. Not like the abrasion damage of osteoarthritis, RA attacks your joint’s lining, cause a terrible swelling that ultimately give rise to erosion of bone and leads to joint malformation. However, there is no single test or physical examination to verify the Rheumatoid arthritis diagnosis in the initial stages of the conditions. Instead, a combination of tests are done that include bloodwork, visual inspection and physical exam that will then create an overall diagnosis. At the time of physical examination, your doctor will examine your joints for redness, swelling and warmth. Your doctor will also examine your muscle strength and range of motion of the joint in the inflamed area. Sometimes a scan such as an MRI or x-ray may be requested if there is conflicting evidence in the aforementioned areas. Sometimes, in advanced cases of rheumatoid arthritis, the disease can affect body parts other than the joint linings, such as internal organs. Therefore, it’s necessary to reveal to your doctor all of the symptoms you have in detail, even if at first they don’t seem to be connected. Do you know what tests are there for diagnosing rheumatoid arthritis? 1. Blood tests to diagnose rheumatoid arthritis Blood tests can calculate the level of inflammation. You may have any of these tests: • C-reactive protein (CRP). • Erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) When the inflammation is present in your blood, both of these will show a high value. Generally they trend in the same fashion, so that an elevated CRP will also coincide with elevated ESR. Also, blood tests will reveal if you are anemic and and will also reveal if you have high rheumatoid factor, which is an antibody, produced in your immune system by a reaction. Approximately 8 out of 10 people with rheumatoid arthritis have positive results for this antibody. Conversely, around 1 in 20 people who do not have rheumatism actually have a positive Rheumatoid Factor result. Nearly half of all people with rheumatism get a positive rheumatoid factor when the disease begins. As a monitoring tool, it is an excellent idea to get regular blood tests to see how your inflammation levels of CRP and ESR are progressing. Some drugs, such as methotrexate, actually require monthly blood tests to monitor possible side effects of the medication such as liver health. These blood tests, as well as occasional MRI’s and x-rays, help your doctor to review how speedily your arthritis is progressing and whether you require any changes in your medication or not. X-rays and various other tests to diagnose rheumatoid arthritis X-rays will confirm any harm occurred to your joints by the inflammation in RA. They are usually a faster and less expensive diagnostic tool than the more detailed magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans. The MRI’s have the additional benefit of showing inflammation and fluid regions, along with tissue health, rather than just the bone information that is gained through X-rays.
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